Two Is Better Than One
by Clumsy21
Summary: A new witch is thrown into the Weasley twins' lives. What happens when both Fred and George start falling for her? Sorry, but this is not going to be Twincest. Rated M for future chapters and language.
1. Chapter 1: I Must Be Dreaming

**Fred and George will not appear until Chapter 3. Sorry, but I needed to provide background for another character and couldn't find a way to fit them in.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of JKR's wonderful characters or plotlines. I just like to mess around with them. **

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"WHAT?!?!?!?!"

My scream rent the air in the brightly lit kitchen. Sitting at the island counter, my parents, John and Kira Westermann, cringed at the sound. I stared at the two of them, unable to sort out what had just happened. I ran my hand through my long, blonde hair, trying to figure out when my life had suddenly turned into a nightmare.

Everything was perfect before I had walked into my kitchen. I lived in Santa Barbara, California, in a beach side mansion. My best friend, Amanda Hughes, lived next door, so we had spent the majority of the summer on our private beaches. Unfortunately, I either burned to a nice lobster color or remained as pale as death, while Amanda retained her beautiful, golden tan the entire year. I was having the best summer of my life, probably cause I turned 17 less than two weeks ago. Oh, and I think I might have forgotten to mention that I was a witch.

I was about to start my seventh year at the Argeneau Institute of Magic, or AIM for short, in less than a month. AIM was the Ivy League of all magical schools in America. I know that this might sound conceited, but I swear that I was not your typical stuck up, snotty, filthy rich Cali girl. While I was able to get almost anything I wanted at any time, I never wanted any of it. I didn't dress in designer labels unless completely necessary. To me, a pair of board shorts and a tight tank top was perfect. I drove a car I paid for by myself from a part time job. Her name was Priscilla and she was a black '98 Pontiac Sunfire.

I know it might sound weird that I don't use magic for everything since I am a pure-blood, but I like doing things by hand. It really calms me down when I use my hands to do something instead of just waving my wand and having it done for me. It also has to do with the fact that I lost my wand during the summer between second and third year. Since my parents refused to help me look for it using magic, I spent three months searching for it, finally finding it in the purse I had used at the end of second year. Since I wasn't able to use magic for an entire summer, I had to everything like a Muggle. I grew to love doing things the non-magical way, continuing to do so even after I found my wand.

However, the one thing I wanted the most was the one thing that I couldn't have: more time with my parents. They both worked for the Ministry of Magic in America. Dad was the head of the Auror Department and Mom was the personal secretary to Prime Minister Studer. They worked all the time and I never got to see them for more than a few minutes a day. They left for work before the sun even rose and came home around 10 pm each night, claiming they were too tired and just needed some sleep. However, it seemed that this had changed somehow over the past day.

I had just woken up, checked my phone, saw that it was 12:32, and went down to the kitchen to grab something to eat, only to be surprised by my parents sitting at the island. Mom and Dad sat there, their identical chestnut heads leaned against each other, emerald eyes locked on chocolate ones. I was still amazed that I could look so different from the two people that created me.

While it was strange to see Mom and Dad sitting in the kitchen, eyes engaged in a loving gaze, it was even weirder to see them home in the middle of the day. They were never home at this time unless it was a holiday, and since it was the beginning of August, I knew that was impossible. When they finally noticed I was in the room, my mom had smiled and told me she had important news to tell me. My stomach did a flip, telling me that whatever this news was, it would not be good.

"Angie, sweetheart, your dad and I have some exciting news for you!" Mom exclaimed.

"Both of us have been transferred to the Ministry of Magic over in London! We leave at the end of the week!" Dad smiled, squeezing Mom's hand and looking at me expectantly. It was obvious that they thought that I would be ecstatic about this move. They couldn't have been more wrong.

"WHAT?!?!?!?!" I shrieked. Mom and Dad both cringed at the sound, but I couldn't care less. They had just told me that I was going to be leaving the only home I had ever known, to move to a completely different country, where I would know absolutely no one, right before my final year of school. I had just received my letter from AIM naming me captain of the seventh year Quidditch team. AIM was not separated into houses, just years, and each year had a team. The teams played against other teams of the same year from different schools. I had been a Chaser every year since second year. I even bought myself a Firebolt in my fifth year when it first came out. I had been hoping to finally captain a team for years. It was completely unfair that now that I finally achieved my dream, it was being ripped away!

I guess I must have been silent for quite some time after that, since Dad cleared his throat loudly, causing me to focus on the two of them across the island.

"Um, Mouse?" Mouse was their pet name for me. It came from when I was a baby and my cry resembled that of a squeaking mouse. I had loathed that name for the longest time, mainly because it was a baby name and was just plain embarrassing. "I thought that you would be happy about this. You have always said you wanted to travel to Europe for a vacation sometime."

I could feel rage crackle in my midnight blue eyes. "There is a huge difference between wanting to go somewhere on vacation for a few weeks and moving there permanently. Did you even consider my feelings when you decided on this?" I could feel myself getting angrier by the minute, cause my voice to rise and a sudden pressure to develop in my chest. "I'm about to start my final year at AIM and now you are whisking me away to England and expect me to be happy about it? You are forcing me to leave everything behind just because you want to go there! What kind of crack dream did you to have that made you think I would be happy about this?"

"Now Angie, you know we only want what is-" Mom started in.

"I swear to all that is magic, if you say you only want what is best for me, I will go and live with Uncle Dean and Aunt Lindy and I promise you that I will never speak to you again." I knew that this would get under my mom's skin. She hated my aunt and uncle more than anything. I never knew why.

"Angela Cecilia Rosalind Westermann." Mom stood up, fury sparking in her emerald eyes. My anger faltered, actually causing me to fall back a step. I had never seen her like this before. "Do not mention either one of those two names in my presence ever again." She spit out each word, causing them to pierce me like ice. I looked at her, sure that shock played out on my face. "Now I suggest that you either go upstairs to your rooms and start packing or go and inform your friends of our moving plans." With that, Mom turned and walked down the hallway which led towards her private office.

Dad turned to look at me. "Mouse, I'm really sorry that you aren't looking forward to this move as your mother and I had hoped. But I know that, in time, you will accept it and enjoy it as much as you can." I knew he was concerned; his gaze had kept switching between me and the hallway Mom had walked down while he was speaking.

He gave me a weak smile and followed after Mom. As I watched him walk away, I felt numb. I was still beyond pissed at both my mom and dad, but I was also starting to feel guilty about saying that to her. However, I wasn't about to go and apologize, partly because I was hoping me being angry might change their minds about the move, doubtful I know but still, but mainly since I knew she would still be upset and I really didn't want to put myself in that line of fire. Dad could handle that on his own.

I turned and headed back upstairs to my room. I had almost the entire third floor to myself. It contained my room, a huge living/rec room, my workout room, and a guest bedroom. I walked down the long hallway to the last door on the right, my room, or should I say suite. Upon opening the door, I walked into a large sitting room. The walls were pale blue, like an early summer morning. There was a cream couch against the wall to the right, two over-sized chocolate brown chairs on the left wall, a matching carpet on the light hardwood floor, and bookshelves covering almost every inch of leftover wall space. Saying that I liked to read was like saying that the Cookie Monster off of Sesame Street liked cookies. I would spend hours each night reading anything I could get my hands on.

Right across from the door to enter my suite was a large archway leading to my bedroom. As I crossed to it, I thought about how much I would miss my rooms here. The large California king size bed with light blue satin sheets, the chocolate brown walls that were covered in movie posters and pictures of me and my friends, the wonderful cream shag carpet that covered my bedroom floor. I walked over to the balcony doors to the right of my bed and flung them open, being greeted by a warm breeze. I would especially miss the view. I could watch the sun set each day from my bed, and each time it took my breath away. The pale blues and picks, the vibrant oranges and reds, the mysterious purples, all mixed together to create a gorgeous moment in time that can never be recreated. I smiled sadly and turned around to face my closet.

There were two doors on the right wall of my bedroom. I walked to the left door, opened it, and began poking around in the multiple different dressers and racks of clothes, trying to find something to wear. I finally decided on a pair of dark and light blue board shorts, a black tank top, and my favorite pair of white Rocket Dogs with neon graffiti on them. I hurried over to my adjoining bathroom, the door on the right. I dumped my clothes on the white marble counter top and hopped into the giant white marble shower.

I let the hot water run over my body, hoping it would calm me down some. It didn't. If anything, it made me even more anxious to see Amanda and tell her the god-awful news. I quickly shampooed and conditioned my hair, ran some soap over everything else, and jumped out. I magically dried and straightened my hair while drying off my body by hand. I then changed, ran out to my balcony, and down the stairs, not stopping until I reached Amanda's house.

Amanda's house was not as large as mine, but it was still considered huge by most standards. I guess she must have seen me coming across the beach, since she was walking out of her back door and I came jogging up to it. Amanda pulled me into a hug and I suddenly felt a huge weight being lifted off my chest. I know I hadn't told her anything yet, but just being in her presence was enough to cause me to feel better. I pulled back and smiled at her. Amanda was beyond gorgeous. She had platinum blonde hair that hung in tight curls around her heart shaped face, an athletic build, yet still had curves in all the right places, bright green eyes that could stop a guy in his tracks, and a smile that took a person's breath away. Right now, she was wearing an emerald halter that perfectly matched her eyes and a pair of low slung Bermudas. She looked like she had just stepped out of a photo shoot.

Amanda and I always knew when something was wrong with the other. I think it was because of how close we were, but I'm really not sure. Like, I knew that something had happened three years ago before she told me that her dog, Duchess, had died earlier that morning. Because of this, I let her grab my arm and lead me down to the edge of the sand, where we both took off our shoes and let the incoming surf wash over our feet. After a few moments Amanda turned to me.

"Ang, are you going to tell me what's going on or am I going to have to start guessing?" She said it jokingly, but her eyes gave her away. Worry was laced inside the green.

"I'm leaving for England with my parents at the end of the week." I couldn't even look at her when I said it, looking out at where some boys were trying to catch some waves. They were really terrible, standing up on their boards only to fall two seconds later. I probably would have made fun of them if I wasn't so upset about moving to England.

"Really?" I jerked my head to look at her. She sounded….happy? I was about to ask her why when she continued. "That is so awesome Ang! You have always wanted to go there! This is in celebration of getting captain of the team, right? I am so jealous! When I got on the team, all I got was a crummy Nimbus 2001. You have to promise to bring me back something. I wouldn't mind having one of those hot Brits. Their accents are so hot!" She laughed and flashed me her winning smile, which only made me feel worse. Of course she would think it was only a vacation. But I couldn't let her continue thinking that.

"Manda, it's not a vacation." Her smile faltered, confusion flashing in her eyes. "My parents were transferred to the Ministry over there, so we're moving. I have until Friday to pack and tell everyone goodbye." Tears started to well up in my eyes, mirroring those in Amanda's. Amanda looked down at the sand, her ice blonde hair hiding her eyes. After a moment, she pulled me into a tight hug and didn't let go. Neither of us said anything, we just hugged each other and let the tears fall.

I'm not sure how much time had passed, but we finally moved from our spot on the beach and headed over to my house to just hang out, for what we hoped wouldn't be the final time. I turned on my iPod and Cobra Starship's song Hot Mess began playing. I had begun to pull some suitcases out of my closet when Amanda let out a scream. I dropped the bags and hurried over to where she was sitting up on my bed, her eyes sparkling, but not with tears, and a bright smile, which startled me.

"Amanda? What's going on?"

"I just thought of something! Do you know where you are going to be living in England?"

"I think we are going to be living in London, but since they didn't say, I'm not really sure." I really didn't understand what was going on.

"You know that pen pal that I had back in fifth year?" I nodded, still not understanding why we were talking about this. "Well I just remembered that she was from England. Just outside Ottery St. Catchpole I'm pretty sure. Anyway, we still talk every once in a while and I bet if you send her an owl, you two could wind up friends. At least then you would know one person over there."

If possible, Amanda's smile got even bigger and it finally clicked. She was trying to make sure that I would be happy overseas. She didn't want to me to be upset about leaving her behind. I smiled at her, tears of joy starting to well in my eyes.

"I think that sounds like a brilliant plan." I grabbed Amanda's hand and squeezed it gently. "What's her name?"

"Ginny Weasley."

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**Okay, this is my first shot at actually sharing what I've written with people other than my close friends. Please review, even if you think it sucks. Constructive criticism really works.**

**I'm really going to try to update at least once a week. I already have up to Chapter 4 finished, just fine tuning some last minute things. I'll have those up as soon as possible, but after that, I'm really not sure when the next chapter is going to be finished. College has been a pain so far, and it's only the first week of the semester.**

**Expect Chapter 2 up sometime on Friday and Chapter 3, possibly 4, by Sunday.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: This Is The End

**Disclaimer: I do not, in any way whatsoever, own any of JKR's fabulous characters or plotlines. I simply like to mess around with them whenever I can.**

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As soon as Amanda had finished telling me about Ginny, she talked me into writing a letter to Ginny myself so that we could start to get to know each other. I grabbed a quill from the desk in my room and scratched off a quick message.

_ Ginny~_

_ Hi. I am Angie Westermann. I know that you don't know me, but _

_ I know of you through our mutual friend Amanda Hughes. She mentioned _

_ that you lived in England and thought I should contact you since I will be _

_ moving there to live at the end of this week. I know that this may sound _

_ somewhat strange, but I was hoping that maybe we could talk some so _

_ that I could at least know one person in the entire country before I moved _

_ there. Thank you for taking the time to read this._

_ Always~_

_ Angie W._

I quickly attached the letter to my barn owl Tessa's leg and sent her off before I could change my mind. After that, Amanda and I spent the next five hours talking about everything: this Ginny Weasley person, how different England would be from California, what the school would be like, and other things like that. My empty suitcases were forgotten and left lying where they fell earlier.

Suddenly, there was a sharp tap on my balcony door. Amanda had closed it earlier, saying that it was a bit too breezy for her tastes. When I looked over, I saw Tessa standing on the balcony, waiting to be let inside. Amanda beat me to the door and Tessa sailed over to the bed, leg stretched out to reveal a letter attached. I took it off with shaking hands, let Tessa give my hand a love nip, and sent her out for the night.

I unrolled the letter, noticing at once that it was quite long and signed by Ginny Weasley at the bottom. I quickly focused back at the beginning of the letter and began to read.

_ Angie~_

_ So, you are Amanda's best friend. It is good to finally talk to you. _

_ She has told me so much about you. In fact, she has told me so much that _

_ it feels like I already know you. Silly, right?_

_ I am surprised to hear that you are moving here so suddenly. _

_ Mainly because I know you are about to start your final year at the _

_ wizarding academy you go to. I can never remember the name of it, even _

_ though Amanda has told me about 50,000 times. I'm guessing that you _

_ will probably be transferring to Hogwarts when you come over, which is _

_ where me and my three brothers go. Don't worry, I'm sure it is exactly _

_ like your school. The only major difference that I can think of is that we _

_ are sorted into houses and go to our classes with our houses. I'm not sure _

_ how they are going to assign you your house though. We are sorted at the _

_beginning of first year, and since you are obviously not a first year, I'm _

_ curious about how that will work out. It would be kinda awkward to have _

_ you sorted with them, but I'm not sure how else they could do it. I guess _

_ we'll just have to wait and see._

_ Anyway, I would be glad to talk to you about anything you want to _

_ know. My entire family has lived here for longer than I've been alive and _

_ all nine of us in the family, my parents included, went to Hogwarts all _

_ seven years. I have six older brothers, and no, that is not a mistake, I do _

_ actually have six of the sodding idiots for siblings. My oldest brother, Bill, _

_is a curse breaker over in Egypt. Charlie, the second oldest, is a dragon _

_ tamer in Romania. My next oldest brother, Percy, is a down right git who _

_ works at the Ministry. The twins, Fred and George, come next, and they _

_ are my absolute favorite ones. They are complete pranksters and really _

_ know how to have a good time. They are both seventh years. My youngest _

_ brother, Ron, is just a complete pain in the ass. He's a fifth year. And I am _

_ the youngest in the family. I'm going to be a fourth year come September. _

_ I know this might seem a bit sudden, but I already told my mum _

_ about you moving here. She was the one who was in the kitchen when _

_ your owl arrived and she was curious about who was writing me when _

_ neither of us recognized the owl. She is very concerned about you not _

_ knowing anyone when you move here and has offered to let you spend the _

_ rest of summer, after you move of course, at my house, getting to know me _

_ and my brothers. Not that you would want to know them, the lot of them _

_ are quite thick and such bloody idiots. But I could always show you _

_ around Muggle London and Diagon Alley, which is the magical side of _

_ London. That way you can get all of your supplies and just spend some _

_ time shopping._

_ So, if you want, you can ask your mum and dad about it and send _

_ an owl back in the morning. We are 8 hours ahead of you over here and I _

_ don't think mum would appreciate owls coming in at all hours of the night. _

_ Last month, the twins had an owl come around midnight and it mad the _

_ mistake of pecking Mum and Dad's window instead of the twins'. Mum was _

_furious at them for being woken up, and it only got worse when she saw _

_ that it was an order form for some of the pranks and gag gifts that the_

_ twins make. Mum doesn't approve of them in the slightest. I was surprised _

_ to see Fred and George alive the next morning, though both of them were _

_ forced to de-gnome the yard, which resulted in quite a few bruises and bite _

_ marks. I don't know what would happen if you sent one, but I really don't _

_ want to take a chance._

_ Shite, I didn't realise how long this was getting. I'm just going to _

_ wrap this up. It was nice to hear from you and I can't wait to meet you in _

_ person. Actually, I might be able to talk one of my older brothers into _

_ bringing me to Heathrow to meet your plane. I figure you are coming in at _

_Heathrow? Let me know and I will talk to you soon._

_ Your friend~_

_ Ginny_

I looked up and saw Amanda doing the same, with a slight smile on her face. "Is she always like this?" Amanda giggled and nodded. "I thought so. I can practically imagine her getting beyond excited about this."

"I know. And can you believe that she has six older brothers? I would die! I'm ready to rip my hair out with just the one!" Both of us laughed. I grabbed Amanda and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you so much for this. I'm really going to miss you when I leave."

Amanda gave me a quick squeeze and let me go. "I'm gonna miss you too. Cali is not going to be the same without you." Both of us smiled.

Just then, Dad came into my room with an apron tied around his waist. "Hello Amanda. I didn't realize that you were here. Well, I'm about finished fixing dinner and I would invite you to stay but we need to have a family talk tonight. Sorry, but maybe you could stay for dinner some other time." Dad turned around and walked out. He called back "I'll see you downstairs in 15 minutes."

I turned to Amanda, shrugging my shoulders. "I really wish you could stay for dinner, but you heard the tyrant." Amanda slapped at my shoulder, laughing. "You know I'm kidding. But I want to hang out with the whole gang tomorrow. Do you think you could set something up?" Amanda nodded. She was always the one who came up with plans and set everything in motion. Hell, she even planned her own surprise 17th birthday party, much to my annoyance.

We both stood up and hugged one last time. Once Amanda slipped out of the balcony doors, I headed to my closet to change clothes. I knew my mom would be furious if I went to dinner dressed like I just got off a surf board. I decided on a pale blue, knee length peasant skirt and a plain black tee. I slipped on a pair of black flats and headed down stairs to the catastrophe that I knew dinner was going to be.

Surprisingly, dinner was not completely terrible. Dad had made his famous chicken cordon bleu and Mom had fixed a fresh tossed salad and breadsticks to accompany it. It was very good, even though one could cut the tension in the room with a rusty chainsaw.

"So, how is Amanda doing?" I looked up from my plate, surprised that Dad had asked me. But then I remembered that Mom and I weren't talking. I then realized that I had just been sitting there and decided I had better answer.

"She's doing pretty good. She's trying to talk her parents into buying her a Firebolt for Quidditch this year," I said quickly, trying not to dwell on the fact that we wouldn't be playing together anymore. We had both been on the Quidditch teams since second year. It would be weird not playing with her any more. The table fell back into an awkward silence, all of us thinking about the giant pink elephant in the room: the move to England. I glanced up from the mahogany table and looked out the magnificent wall of windows right across the table from me. The entire wall was made of glass, giving me a spectacular view of the sun that was currently setting above the Pacific. I concentrated on the swirling blues, pinks, and oranges that were currently making a masterpiece of the sky. I then realized that this would be one of the final times that I would see the sun setting out this window, or even in this house. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of those thoughts. Instead, I thought back to the letter I got from Ginny Weasley. She seemed so nice responding to my owl when she didn't have to. Maybe this move wouldn't be so bad. Ginny seemed like she could become a close friend and maybe her brothers wouldn't be so bad either. And there was always the chance that I could talk my parents into allowing me to come back here for my winter vacation. I heard Dad ask Mom something, but I didn't pay attention. I kept thinking about how this move might not be the worst thing that could happen. Mom and Dad could have been transferred to Scandinavia or Antarctica. That would have been a complete travesty. I absolutely hate the cold, and while I've heard that England can get pretty cold, I know that there are plenty of places that are much colder. And London is a major theatre capital in the world. It would be simply amazing to see professional showing there on the West End, with all of the best theatre actors and actresses in the business. It would be a lot better than the Hollywood starlets that Amanda and I ran into on our infrequent trips to Hollywood. After seeing a bunch of immature starlets getting drunk and passing out in the middle of the day, I had pretty much given up on Young Hollywood. I glanced up and noticed that Mom and Dad were almost finished, while I still had half a plate of food left. I quickly finished my food, even though I knew 'the talk' would come as soon as everyone was finished.

When I had finished eating, Dad cleared the table with a wave of his wand and cleared his throat. _Here it comes_ I thought, dryly.

"Angie, I know you were upset earlier when your mother and I told you about the move, but I hope that you have had some time to calm down and think things through. This move will be happening on Friday, no matter what. We will leave for the airport by 5 that night to make it in time for our 9pm flight. We will be arriving in London's Heathrow Airport around 7am the next morning, the 22nd. From there, a Ministry car will pick us up and drive us to Seaton, which is just on the coast of the English Channel. It's about 3½ hours away from London, so we should arrive at the new house around noon, once we are through customs and everything. After that, your mother and I have a meeting back at the Ministry that afternoon to attend, and then jump right into our new jobs that night, so you get the new house all to yourself to get settled into." Dad looked at me, chocolate eyes pleading with my midnight blue ones to not cause another fight.

I took a moment to go back though everything that I had thought through during dinner. With a sudden shock, I realized that I was actually looking forward to the move now. I suddenly felt guilty, like I was being a bad friend to Amanda and everyone else I was leaving behind. I shouldn't be excited about leaving, and maybe never seeing them again, but I was. Yet, Amanda wouldn't have introduced me to Ginny if she didn't want me to be happy in England. I shook my head, realizing that I was just trying to make myself come up with a reason for why I shouldn't be happy about the move. I looked up at my parents and saw them exchanging a look, which I could only characterize as being worried.

"Sounds like a plan, Dad." Twin looks of surprise flashed across Mom and Dad's faces. I guess neither of them expected me to accept this change so fast. "But, I actually have something to tell you that might make a mess of your plans." Mom and Dad both looked at me; Dad's eyes widening in concern, Mom's narrowing in suspicion. "Amanda actually knows a girl who lives in England, right outside Ottery St. Catchpole to be exact. I sent her an owl earlier and she responded, offering to meet me at the airport and even to let me stay with her family for the rest of summer break. I was considering accepting, but I wanted to run it by you two first." I smiled hopefully at both my parents, waiting for the news to finally hit them. Mom and Dad's eyes went back to their normal sizes, yet didn't say anything. I waited a couple minutes, during which neither of them so much as blinked. I was about to say something when Mom stood up. She came around the table and pulled me into a hug.

"Angie, I am so glad that you are okay with this move." She pulled away, tears glistening in her eyes. "However, none of us know this girl or her family. While it would be fine for her to meet us at the airport, I, for one, do not feel comfortable letting you spend the rest of break at her house."

"Mouse," Dad said gently. " Once we meet this girl and her family, and if they turn out to be decent folks, then maybe. But as for right now, I think it would be best if you told her that she can meet us at Heathrow after our plane lands."

I sighed, happy that they had at least thought about it. I know that it might seem strange to want to stay at a complete stranger's house when I would have my own to stay at, but I had a feeling that Mom and Dad would probably have the same hours in London as they had here. I really didn't want to spend the last week of summer break by myself, especially when I wouldn't have Amanda to keep me company this time. "Thanks for thinking about it. I think I'm going to head up to bed now. It's been a long day." Mom and Dad both nodded, each giving me a hug before I went upstairs. Once I reached my room, I stripped down to my underwear, pulling on a pair of baggy sweatpants and a white spaghetti strap tank.

I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep, so I grabbed the suitcases I had gotten out of my closet earlier and moved them onto my bed. I turned on my iPod, switching it to my favorite playlist. Once _Girls Do What They Want_ started playing, I went into my closet and walked to the very back corner where there was a small three drawer dresser that held my warmer clothes. I knew London was going to be considerably colder than Santa Barbara and wanted to look over all my warm weather clothes first. Unfortunately, the only real cold weather clothes I had were the sweats I was wearing, a half dozen pairs of jeans, and a few hooded jackets. Sighing, I walked back into my room and went to my desk. I grabbed my wand, 11 ¼" mahogany with a unicorn hair core, before returning to the closet. With a flourish and a simple changing spell, all of my cute warm weather clothes had the ability to keep me at the perfect temperature depending on the weather. I let out another sigh, relieved that I would not have to do quite as much shopping now that I didn't need to replace my entire wardrobe.

With a second wave, all of my clothes except for one dresser magically shrunk, folded, and packed themselves inside of the three open suitcases on my bed. After getting them zipped and levitating them into the sitting room, I grabbed a book and settled down on top of my bed. I didn't even crack the book open before my eyes slipped shut and sleep claimed me.

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**So there it is, Chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed it. Chapter 3 and 4 should be up by sometime this weekend. **


	3. Chapter 3: Whoever She Is

**Sorry that this is getting up a day late. I last track of time yesterday, but here it is.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of JKR's amazing plotlines or characters. I just like messing around with them.  
**

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Fred and George Weasley were woken up the morning of August 22nd by their sister Ginny pounding on their bedroom door. The twins groaned in unison, both hoping that it was just a dream and the annoying sound would stop. However, soon the pounding was joined with Ginny's lovely voice shrieking through the door.

"Get your lazy arses out of bed right now!!!! Angie and her family are going to be landing in the next half hour and if you don't get up now we will miss them!!!!"

Fred and George groaned again. They lifted their heads at the same time and looked at each other, identical looks of annoyance plastered on their faces.

"Do you even know what time it is Gin?" George shot out.

"The sun is barely up!" Fred added.

"If you two don't get out of bed, get dressed, and get downstairs in the next 15 minutes, I will show Mum where you hide all your stashes of pranks!" Ginny said menacingly.

"Give us a minute Gin! Don't get your knickers in a bunch!" Fred yelled out, tossing back the covers of his bed and sitting up. The knocking finally stopped, causing both boys to sigh with relief.

George sat up, a look of disgust crossing his face. "If I ever hear you mentioning our sister's knickers again, I will have to kill you, Gred. That is one image I never want to have in my head again." George pretended to puke over the side of his bed while Fred let out a chuckle. "Well, I guess we need to get moving before she comes back. Let's at least hope this Angie person's plane makes it on time." George swung himself out of his bed, followed by Fred, as they both went to their dressers to pick out what to wear. They both decided on jeans, plain black t-shirts, and bright orange knock-off chucks. They figured it would be easier to confuse Angie if they were dressed the exact same, and fooling people when it came to telling the twins apart was their favorite thing to do. They changed quickly and somewhat quietly, yawning the entire time, their growling stomachs inspiring them to hurry and get downstairs. Once they reached the kitchen of the Burrow and sat at the kitchen table, their mum, Molly Weasley, set two heaping plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, black pudding, and toast in front of them.

"Thanks Mum!" the twins stated cheerfully in unison.

"Now boys," their mum said as they shoveled food into their mouths. "I want you to be on your best behavior when you go with Ginny to meet Angie and her family. No pranks!" She gave them a hard look at that, to which the twins put on their best innocent looks. Molly sighed in exasperation. Suddenly, Ginny appeared in the kitchen, a look of annoyance on her face.

"Fred! George! It is already 6:52! Angie's plane arrives in 8 minutes! We need to get moving now!" Fred and George exchanged a look. From the glare that Ginny was giving them, they knew it was in their best interests to move or be hexed into oblivion. The shoved their food aside, gave their mum a quick peck on the cheek each, grabbed their matching black jackets, and followed their sister out into the back yard. Once there, Fred grabbed Ginny's hand and did a Side-Along-Apparition while George went solo.

The three arrived, unnoticed, in the crowded airport at terminal 5 at 6:55. Ginny hurried before them, leaving them to follow, as she sought out the landing gate. Fred and George followed behind, trying not to lose her in the crowd. They reached gate 3 at 7 am on the dot.

Fred looked down at Ginny. "So, what does this Angie look like?" George glanced over, also curious, since no one had told either of them about this girl until just last night. Their summer holiday had been going fantastic. With the triwizard earnings that Harry had given them at the end of last term, the twins had been able to start creating even more pranks and jokes. Business was booming and they were looking into buying a building to set up shop. They had just gotten back from scouting out locations last night to be confronted by both Ginny and their mum, telling them that they would be taking Gin to Heathrow by 7 the next morning. As in 7 am. Neither George not Fred had seen 7 am in the past two months. They were even more shocked when they heard that this girl might be spending the rest of summer holiday with them. The only people who were ever invited to spend any holiday with their family were Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, their younger brother Ron's best friends. Now that they were about to meet this mysterious Angie, it seemed only fair to Fred that they should know what she looked like, so as to be able to spot her and see if she was worth getting up at 6:30 in the morning to meet.

Ginny glanced up at her two older brothers. "Umm, she has blue eyes, long blonde hair, and I think she said she was around 5'7". Why?"

"So that we can give her description the Muggle please-men. Seriously, Gin, how are we supposed to help you find her if we don't know what she looks like?" George replied sarcastically. Ginny rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs, eliciting a grunt from George and a laugh from Fred.

Just then, a trickle of people started pouring out of the gate. This trickle turned into a mob of people so thick that Fred wasn't sure if they would even be able to find Angie and her parents. Fred searched the crowd, looking for a blonde haired girl with blue eyes. Fortunately for him, most of the people who came out of the gate were either brunettes or too old/young to be Angie. Fred thought he had finally spotted her and was about to start forward when the person turned around and it turned out to be a very ugly man with long blond hair and a matching beard. Fred closed his eyes and visibly shivered, wondering why some Muggles did things like that to their bodies. When Fred looked back to the crowd, it had not even started to thin out. It looked like at least two other planes had landed also and everyone was fighting to get out of the terminal. Not wanting to get shoved around too much, Fred tried to stay out of everyone's way while also looking for this Angie. Which was easier said than done.

After what felt like forever, but was probably more like 30 minutes, the crowd finally thinned out, yet he still hadn't seen this friend of Ginny's. He frowned, looking around to find Ginny and George standing off to one side, wearing similar frowns of displeasure. Apparently, neither of them had seen her either. Fred had just started to walk over to where Gin and George were standing when he noticed a trio walk out of the gate. While he noticed that the trio consisted of two adults and a teenage girl, his gaze was riveted on the adults. Both were well over 6', just like himself and George, and had the exact same shade of brown hair. They could have passed for fraternal twins, yet it seemed more likely that they were a couple. What was even more shocking was the girl in front of them. He guessed that she was their daughter, a very far fetched guess at that. While the adults were very tall, the girl was probably around 5'7" and had golden brown hair to their dark brown. Fred couldn't see her eyes from the distance he was at, but took a guess that this was Angie and her parents. She was the only girl that he had seen so far that even came close to matching Gin's description of her.

Fred turned back to where Gin was to tell her about the girl he noticed when he saw his sister approaching her. Fred met up with George while the two girls hugged. This cemented Fred's assumption, and, after a bit of laughter, the two girls began to walk over towards him and George, with Angie's parents trailing behind them.

It had been such a long week. Hanging out with everyone on Tuesday night was fun, but it hurt when Tyler had asked me out. It hurt even more to see the pain on his face when I told him I was moving to England at the end of the week. Me, Tyler, and Amanda had been best friends since the first day at AIM. The three of us were known as being the biggest trouble makers in the history of Argeneau's. We were always causing trouble for the caretaker, Ms. Ritter, like setting off fireworks in the hallways during finals, sneaking out of the castle at night, stunning her dog, Bowser, who actually bore a striking resemblance to the Mario character, whenever he caught us, using color changing graffiti on the hallway walls that flashed profanities whenever Ritter, and certain hated professors, walked by, and many other things. The three of us had so many memories of times spent in detention with Headmaster Hornbuckle, playing _Monopoly: Argeneau Institute of Magic Edition_ or watching random Muggle movies, like _A River Runs Through It _and _Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?_.Headmaster Hornbuckle was like that awesome uncle that everyone wants but no one has. In fact, after a while, the three of us let ourselves get caught so we could get out of class and just chill out in his office with him.

I had known for a while that Tyler liked me as more than just a best friend, but I never let him have the chance to act on those feelings. I liked Tyler, but nothing more than just friends, and if he ever had the chance to ask me out, I would have had to say no, which I knew would bring an awkwardness into our friendship. That night, however, he had pulled me away while we were waiting in line for laser tag. I had no idea that he was going to ask me out, and when he did, I didn't even answer him. I just pulled him back to the group and told everyone that I was leaving for England on Friday, and that I wouldn't be coming back. All of us made the most of that night, except for Tyler. He ignored me after that, but whenever I looked his way, I would always see a heart-wrenching hurt pouring out of his eyes. We didn't talk for the rest of the night, even when I said good night to him when he was leaving, he acted like he hadn't heard me. Knowing that I might not ever see him again was upsetting, but I knew nothing could be done about it. Some long distance relationships can work. However, I don't think ones where the people live on two separate continents turn out too well. I just wished that he had at least said goodbye, and maybe had not ignored me the entire night. I finally got back to my house at about 5 am Wednesday morning, finally getting away from my friend Brittany's house and the marathon of sappy chick flicks.

On Wednesday morning, I received a letter from Hogwarts, the school that Ginny had told me about. It was surprisingly straightforward and this Professor Albus Dumbledore seemed to know exactly what was going on and why I was moving to England. It was all quite bizarre to read.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, _

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_ Dear Ms. Westermann,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted _

_ at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed _

_ a list of all necessary books and equipment. _

_ According to your records from the Argeneau Institute of _

_ Magic, you are well prepared to handle the course work of our seventh _

_ year N.E.W.T. students. I have taken the liberty of assigning you classes _

_ based on those that you excelled in at the Argeneau Institute of Magic. _

_ Once you arrive and have a chance to sample your classes, you may add,_

_ drop, or switch any as you see fit. I do request that you meet with your _

_ head of house to perform this procedure. You will be sorted into your _

_ house along with the first years at the start of term._

_ Term begins on September 1. Your ticket onto the Hogwarts _

_ Express is included in this envelope._

_ Yours sincerely,_

_ Albus Dumbledore_

_ Headmaster_

I had to read through the letter at least a dozen times before it finally sunk in. I would be going to school with Ginny and her brothers. I breathed a sigh of relief, because, even though I didn't mention anything to Ginny, I was afraid that I might have been transferred to a different magical institute where I would know absolutely no one. After receiving this letter, I quelled that fear, allowing curiosity to take its place. I was really interested in which classes I had 'excelled at', as Professor Dumbledore had put it. I pulled the other piece of parchment out of the envelope.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_ Uniform_

_ Students will require:_

_ - Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_ - One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_ - One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_ - One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)  
_

_ **Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.**_

_ Course Books  
_

_ You should have a copy of each of the following:_

_ - The Standard Book of Spells Grade 7 by Miranda Goshawk_

_ - A Serious Study in Potions by Burthwilda Flacket_

_ - Confronting the Faceless by Sean R. Right_

_ - Advanced Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_ Other Equipment_

_ - 1 wand_

_ - 3 packages of parchment, 100 sheets per package_

_ - 2 packages of vellum, 3 sheets per package_

_ - 1 set glass or crystal phials_

_ - 1 telescope_

_ - 1 set brass scales_

_ - Set of 4 quills_

_ - Basic black inkwell_

_ - Extra large pewter cauldron_

_ - Refill of potion ingredients including seventh year set_

_ **Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.**  
_

_ **Second year students and above are allowed to bring a **_

_** broomstick.**_

After I read through the second piece of parchment a few times, I laid it on my bed next to the other. I was surprised at only having to take four classes in my final year. At AIM, we had to take every class every year to make sure our magical abilities reached the highest heights attainable in every area. Yet, I was glad about only taking these four. I gathered by the book titles that the classes were Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Transfiguration. I loved Charms and D.A.D.A. They were my two favorite classes and I was amongst the top in my year at AIM. Potions and Transfiguration were close seconds, mainly because while I really enjoyed the classes, I just didn't pick up the material as fast. And then there was also the gut feeling that this would mean plenty of free periods, which would be a welcome comfort. At AIM, there was no such thing as a free period. Most students pulled all-nighters to finish all the homework the professors gave them, and weekends were spent writing papers. However, there was the occasional weekend where we would be able to visit the local wizarding village, and most teachers gave us a break when those popped up, knowing that the break would give us a chance to refuel. Now, it was looking like I would actually be able to sleep and not look like a zombie walking around the school everyday.

Cheered quite a bit, I grabbed the list again and read through the uniform requirements, frowning. The only thing on the list that I had was dragonhide gloves. The robes that we wore at AIM were a deep green color and they were made of a very light cotton, since AIM was located in the southern part of Arizona. I also knew that they were completely different from the robes that most of the other wizarding schools in America wore. The robes for us girls were basically mid-thigh length bathrobes that had a full skirt and completely open in the front. The guys robes were pretty much the same, except they were floor length and did not have the full skirt. We were allowed to wear whatever we wanted underneath the robes, which I thought was amazing. Since I figured that Hogwarts robes would be nothing like this, I knew that I would need to get new robes, but I was fairly certain there were no wizarding shops around my house that sold plain black robes, or even pointed hats and wool cloaks. No one needed a wool cloak when it was already in the 80s-90s every single day. And pointed hats just made absolutely no sense when trying to not attract attention. These would just have to be one of the many purchases that I would have to pick up once I went shopping with Ginny in London.

_Shit!_ I dropped the letter. _I forgot to owl Ginny! Shitshitshitshitshit!!_ I jumped off my bed and ran to grabbed a quill and a scrap of parchment. I quickly scrawled out a message to Ginny.

_ Ginny,_

_ OMG, I am so sorry that I forgot to owl you yesterday! I was super _

_ busy and just couldn't find the time._

_ I talked to my parents and they said that you could meet us at the _

_ airport on Saturday morning at 7. Our plane is coming in at Terminal 5, _

_ Gate 23. So you know how to find me, I have long dirty-blonde hair, blue _

_ eyes, and am about 5'7". _

_ However, they don't feel comfortable with me spending the rest of _

_ break at your house since they have not met your family. I was thinking _

_ that our families could get together that night so that everyone could meet. _

_ Let me know if that is okay with your mom. _

_ And I hate to ask you this, but can you do me a huge favor? I'm _

_ not sure how to get Tessa to England if I bring her with me. An owl really _

_ isn't a normal Muggle pet. So, I was wondering if you could possibly hold _

_ on to her for me until I get there. If I don't get her back by tomorrow _

_ afternoon, I guess I will have my answer. Thank you in advance!_

_ But I actually have to get going now. I will talk to you soon._

_ Your friend,_

_ Angie_

I sent the letter off with Tessa and settled back down on my bed. I grabbed the letter with the list of school supplies again, looking down the page a checking off everything I already had. I had quills, parchment, vellum, a cauldron, potions ingredients, phials, my owl, dragonhide gloves, and my Firebolt. That left the books and robes to get. I decided that I would go shopping tomorrow to see if maybe they had any of these things in Los Angeles, a portion of which was completely magical. I placed both of the pieces of parchment on my desk and walked back to the foot of my bed. I reached underneath and pulled out a large black trunk, covered in postcards from all over the U.S. There was one on it from every place I had visited, from St. Louis, MO to Hershey, PA to Destin, FL. I slid my had over the postcards, memories of trips to these different places racing through my mind. Taking a moonlit dip with Amanda and Brittany in the fountain in front of the Art Museum in St. Louis, skiing down the slopes in Denver with my parents, swimming in the Gulf of Mexico with those adorable Florida twins, I still have their numbers somewhere, and so many more.

I finally flipped the lid open, looking down at all my old school supplies. I unloaded everything onto my bed, then went about completely cleaning the trunk out. There were tatters of parchment and broken quills lining the bottom of it, some of it appearing to be from my first year. After getting rid of all the garbage, which took around an hour to do by hand, I stood up and went back to my bed. I sorted everything out, putting all the vellum and parchment in one stack, tying all the quills together, doubling checking all the seals on my potions ingredients and storing them in my cauldron along with my dragonhide gloves and empty potions phials. I placed all of this into the newly cleaned trunk neatly, laying my beloved Firebolt on top. I took one last look before closing the lid and using my wand to levitate the trunk into my sitting room to join the three suitcases packed with most of my wardrobe. I grabbed the book I had started reading Monday night and laid down on my bed. I got to page two before I fell asleep.

On Thursday, I went to the magical portion of Los Angeles and tried to find my supplies. I checked in Burton and Berger, the bookstore, for all of my textbooks. However, after looking all over for them, an employee finally came over and informed me, after taking a look at my list, that the books I needed were only available in Europe. She did tell me that I could send out for them, but it would be at least two days before they came in. Since I was leaving for England tomorrow, I decided I would just wait until then. I thanked the woman and left, walking down the street until I reached Wilson's Wizard Wear, which, as the name implied, sold wizard robes. I walked inside and immediately found an employee. There was no way that I would spend another hour walking around a store just to be told what I needed was not there. When I asked him for plain black work robes, the man pretty much laughed in my face. I knew it was no use asking; all wizarding schools in America used colored robes. Hell, even the wizarding businesses used colored robes for their uniforms. No one wore plain black robes. I didn't even bother to thank the man, he wouldn't have heard me anyway, he was too busy laughing.

I walked out of the store and returned to Muggle Los Angeles. I needed to do some last minute shopping for cold weather clothes, since I had barely any. I went to the Banana Republic off of Rodeo Drive, since I simply loved their clothes. I walked straight to the denim section, picking out two pairs of dark wash boot cut jeans, my favorite kind of jeans in the entire world. I then wandered over to where the tops were hanging, brushing off the sales woman who came to help me. I preferred shopping by myself, not wanting someone to try and talk me into buying something that is either completely hideous or not my style at all. I was looking at a rack of cardigans when my eyes fell on a gorgeous chunky black and grey wool cardigan. I immediately found my size and grabbed it up, falling in love with it already. I went through the rest of the racks of sweaters pretty quickly, seeing nothing that caught my eyes.

I turned around to find rack after rack of blouses in front of me. I normally didn't bother with anything that fancy, but I figured I might as well take a look. It turns out I might as well have skipped it, because there was nothing there that remotely screamed 'Angie' to me. I went on over to where the plain tees were folded on a table towards the back of the store. I grabbed a plain black, grey, and white long sleeve tee each, figuring they would be good for layering. Figuring I wouldn't find anything else, I walked over to the shoes. I picked up a two new pairs of flats, one black, one brown, a pair of knee high grey boots, and a pair of 4 inch black stiletto heels. My old pair of heels had broken two weeks ago when I tripped walking up the stairs and the heel on one busted off. I knew I could fix it using magic, but I just felt like getting a new pair. I walked up to the register, thinking I was done. They had me completely checked out, the total, with tax, coming to $875.53, when I realized I had forgotten to buy a coat. I shook it off, and handed the woman my debit card. I grabbed my bags and headed out of the store, deciding I would find one at the next store I went to.

As soon as I walked out of the store, I ducked into an alley and hid behind a Dumpster. I then shrunk my packages and placed them in my jacket pocket. I then exited the alley and walked down to Guess?, figuring they would have something I would like. I really just needed shirts now, so I walked straight back to where the shirts were and began looking. After a little searching, I found a long black v-neck shirt, that might have been able to pass for a dress if I wanted to look like a hooker. I thought it would look amazing over a pair of dark wash jeans, so I picked it up. I then picked up a navy blue cap sleeve tee with a gathered bust and heart shape neckline. I walked away, only to come back and pick up the same shirt in white. I also found a simple long sleeve red sweater, a deep grey off the shoulder sweater, and a couple more long sleeve tees in various colors.

I wandered over to the jackets, determined to find at least one so I wouldn't freeze in the European winter. When I reached the coat section, my eyes fell upon a python print trench coat. I immediately loved it. It just screamed my name and I knew that it would be perfect. Making sure they had my size, I grabbed it, and turned around, fully prepared to leave before I could spend any more money. That was when my gaze found the leather jacket. I walked over to it, as if in a trance. It was beautiful, genuine leather, and I couldn't help myself from picking up the only one they had left, which happened to be my size. It seemed like it was meant for me to have this jacket. I checked my phone, only to realize that it was well after 5, and I needed to get home to finish packing. I rushed to pay for the clothes, the total coming to $1037.72. I, once again, handed over my debit card, thankful for all the time I had spent working this summer. I really would have hated to use my parents money to pay for my clothes. I grabbed my bags and hurried out of the store. I ducked into an alley, shrunk my bags, tucked them into another pocket in my jacket, and Apparated back to my house.

I opened my eyes to my bedroom. I pulled all of the bags out of my pockets and laid them on the bed before returning them to their correct sizes. I then took the tags off and magically folded and packed everything into a fourth suitcase that I had brought out of my closet. I brought the suitcase, once I had finished packing it, out to my sitting room to join the other three suitcases and my trunk. Realizing that I was hungry, I left my room and went down to the kitchen. I quickly ate two bowls of cheerios, rinsed out my bowl and spoon, and headed back up to my room. I changed back into my sweats and a tank top, before laying back down on my bed and opening up the book I had finally started last night. I managed to get to page 152 of _The Luxe _before I feel asleep.

On Friday, I woke up at 10 in the morning to Amanda jumping on my bed and yelling for me to wake up. After I had woken up and changed into a pair of dark wash jeans and a plain black tee shirt, I put my sweats, tank top, and a few other items in one of the suitcases. After that was finished, Amanda and I moved onto shrinking all of the furniture and books in my suite. It took until three that afternoon to finish packing everything. Amanda and I walked downstairs, peering into the different empty rooms, a jacket thrown over my shoulder, my white graffiti Rocket Dogs on my feet, and my multiple suitcases floating behind us. We found my parents in the completely empty kitchen, sitting on the floor and eating Chinese take-out. They motioned for us to join them, so the four of us sat there on the ground, talking about whatever came to mind, like this was an everyday occurrence.

When it was time for us to leave, Amanda helped me load all of my suitcases and trunk into my Sunfire. We hugged each other for the longest time, promising to owl each other whenever possible. Neither of us was crying when I followed my parents' vintage '69 Mustange down the long driveway and off to the airport. I listened to Cobra and BLG for the entire drive, the music reminding me of the all the times me and Amanda would spend in one of our bedrooms, just talking and spending time together. I shook my head and tried not to think about anything but the music and following my parents for the rest of the drive. Once we got to the airport, we unloaded two suitcases each. We then shrunk the cars when no one was around, slipped them into our suitcases, and walked into the terminal. After going through customs, we settled into our first class seats for the trip. I fell asleep as soon as the plane took off.

I woke up the next morning to a stewardess telling me that the plane was about to land. A sudden excitement overtook me when I realized that I was going to be meeting Ginny in person for the first time. I led my parents off the plane and went to gather our suitcases. As soon as I stepped out of the gate, my eyes fell on three people across the way, all three with shocking red hair. Ginny had told me that she would be bringing two of her brothers with her, but I didn't realize that she meant she was bringing her twin brothers. I also didn't realize that they were identical twins, from the shock of bright red hair to how tall they were. They looked to be about as tall as both my parents, who each had a good 5" on me. I only tore my gaze away from them when Ginny walked up and pulled me into a hug. She pulled away and I noticed she had beautiful blue eyes, which shone with happiness, and a mass of curly auburn hair surrounding her face.

"It is so good to finally meet you in person, Angie! I have been driving mum crazy all week, talking about finally getting to see you." Ginny laughed and flashed me a smile. I knew that I shouldn't, but I had a sudden idea and decided to run with it, hoping my parents weren't listening in and try to ruin it.

"Um, do I know you? Who is this Angie you are talking about?" I looked at Ginny confused, but I knew in a minute that I would bust out laughing.

A look of shock passed over Ginny's face, followed by a flush of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were someone else." When she looked like she was going to walk away, I couldn't contain it any longer. I started laughing and Ginny looked at me in confusion. It must have hit her after a minute, because she smacked at my arm and joined in my laughing.

"You are just like my brothers over there. They are always pretending to be each other since they are twins. Even our mum falls for it." I just laughed harder, thinking that these boys might be just like my prankster friends I had left behind. I would definitely have to get to know these twins better.

I turned to my parents, who were looking at us, amusement radiating off of their faces. " Mom, Dad, this is Ginny Weasley. Ginny, this is my mom and dad." They exchanged waves and Ginny grabbed my arm, pulling me towards her brothers, leaving my parents to follow behind with the luggage. As we got nearer to the twins, I noticed even more about them. When I had first seen them, I had assumed they were completely identical. While they were, they also had some subtle differences. The twin on the right had a few more freckles than the twin on the left, though they were a tad darker. The twin on the left also held himself a bit more confidently, with his hands stuck in his pockets and shoulders somewhat squared off. The twin on the right had his arms folded over his black clad chest and he kept shuffling his feet, almost like he was uncomfortable being there. Yet it was their identical sky blue eyes that held the most perceptive difference. While the one on the right had eyes that looked almost flat to me, the twin on the left had eyes that looked like they could tell stories. I could see amusement flash into his eyes before one eye slowly closed and then opened, a smile tugging at his full lips. My pulse quickened as I realized I had just spent quite sometime staring at these two boys and at least this one noticed it. I glanced at the other one and he was staring off in the opposite direction now. I looked back towards the twin on the left and smiled, hoping a flush wouldn't creep onto my cheeks.

"Angie, Mr. and Mrs. Westermann, these are my older twin brothers, Fred and George." She turned to me, a sly grin taking over her face. "Don't worry about nor being able to tell the two apart, no one can." Each twin gave me an exaggerated wink while nodding a 'hello' to my parents. I laughed, seriously hoping that I would get to know these two better as time went on.

"It simply smashing to meet you Angie," stated the twin on the right, grabbing my right hand in both of his and shaking it, while grinning like a mad man.

"I have to agree, George. Simple smashing," agreed the other, I assumed Fred, since he had just called his twin George, while grabbing my left hand and shaking it, a similar grin claiming his face. I started cracking up, finding the entire thing to be completely ridiculous, along with enjoying their company more and more. I saw my parents' expressions out of the corner of my eye, laughing even harder at their looks of pure confusion.

After a couple minutes, the boys dropped my hands, which was probably helped along by Ginny smacking at their hands, her face split in half with a grin the entire time.

"Sorry about them, Angie. As I told you before, they're bloody obnoxious."

"Hey!" The twins looked at Ginny in what I could only describe as mock anger.

"Bloody obnoxious?" George, I think, asked Ginny.

"Can you believe this George?" Okay, this was definitely Fred.

"No I can't dearest brother."

"And from our own baby sister no less."

"I am beyond shocked Fred."

"I don't think we have ever…" began Fred.

"…been this insulted in our entire lives," George finished for his twin. I watched this exchange with wonder. I had never seen any two people so perfectly synchronized before. While one twin had Ginny's attention, the other inched forward slowly, trying to avoid her attention. The game of ping-pong went back and forth until they stopped talking, at which point it seemed Ginny realized she was trapped by her brothers, one on either side of her. Just as she opened her mouth, to say God only knows what, both boys descended on her, tickling every inch it seemed that they could find. As Ginny screeched in laughter, I tried to hide mine behind my hand, not sure if I should try to help her or not. After a minute or two, but what probably felt like a century to Ginny, Fred and George finally stopped, stepping away from her with identical chuckles. Ginny sent them each a glare before straightening her green tee and landing a back hand to each of their stomachs. Which didn't cause either of the twins to apologize or send her a remorseful look. If anything, it only caused the two to smile more. I saw Ginny roll her eyes before turning her back on her brothers. She paused when she saw me, hiding my laughter behind my hand, a pondering look rolling across her features.

Suddenly, Ginny's eyes glinted mischievously. "I just realized something. Fred and George are both seventh years." While the twins just looked at each other, I swallowed a sudden lump in my throat. I looked over at Ginny, a look of sheer pleasure entering her eyes. "That's the same year as you, right Angie?" Ginny cocked her head to the side, and I suddenly knew that it was not a good idea to get on her bad side. Hesitantly, I turned to look at Fred and George, only to see them exchanging a look that I could not even begin to describe. I just had the sudden feeling that it would definitely be an interesting year with these two around.

Dad cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with everything that had just gone on. "Ang, I think we need to get going if we are going to meet the Ministry car." With that said, he turned to my mom and grabbed her suitcases along with his own before heading off towards the exit to the terminal. Before I could grab my bags, Fred and George had them. Ginny grabbed my hand and the four of us started up the corridor after my parents.

We had caught up to my parents in no time and Ginny helped to direct them out of the terminal. It did not take long to find the Ministry car that they had sent. The driver had parked at the edge of the lot by a grouping of trees. It was a plain black Lincoln town car with tinted windows. The driver got out of the car as we approached. He wore a black suit, white button up, black tie, black dress shoes, and dark shades. He looked like he just stepped out of _Men in Black_.

"Are you Mr. and Mrs. Westermann?" the driver asked in a completely monotone voice. I could just tell he was just one huge bundle of joy. Or not.

"Yes, we are. I am guessing that you will be driving us to Seaton?" my mom asked cheerfully. I guess she was trying to make the guy show some kind of emotion. Even I could have told her it was a waste of effort.

"No. Minister Fudge has requested that you come straight to the Ministry to become acquainted with your new positions. Now, if you would please?" He opened the back door of the town car and motion for us to get in.

"Just a second. If we are going to the Ministry right now, then how is Angie going to get home? She can't spend the entire day there. I would say she could Apparate to the house, but none of us have ever been to Seaton. John, what are we supposed to do?" When Dad shrugged, Mom looked between him and the driver, not sure what to do. However, the answer came from an unexpected person in the group.

"Angie is more than welcome to come back to our house for the day. We can even stop by your new house first so she can drop off her bags. Me and George have friends that used to live in the area," Fred offered, elbowing his twin in the ribs when George looked at the him, eyes widened in shock.

"Angie thinks that sounds like a good idea, if my opinion matters at all. And Angie would also like it if everyone here would stop talking about her like she wasn't here," I inserted sarcastically. Mom had the decency to look embarrassed, while the first twin just grinned at me.

"Well. I guess that will have to work. Angie, just make sure to be home before it gets too late. Here's the address to get to the house." She handed me a small slip of paper. "We'll see you later." Mom leaned in to give me a hug, then slide into the town car. Dad did the same, muttering "Be careful" before climbing into the car behind Mom. The driver then gathered all the luggage that they had and stored it in the spacious trunk.

I waved as the car drove off, then turned around to see three grinning Weasleys, which made me more than a little nervous. The one twin came up next to me and slipped the piece of paper out of my hand, obviously studying the address written on it before handing it off to his twin.

"So, um, I'm guessing we are getting to my house by Apparition?" I asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice.

"Yep. Here." The same twin shuffled the bag he was holding to his left hand and held out his right to me. "Me and George have been to Seaton before." So this was Fred I was talking to. I kept losing track of which was which, only remembering who they were when the other twin's name was mentioned. "In fact, I think your new house is where one of Bill's ex-girlfriends used to live. It'll be easier for you to go Side-Along rather than risk getting that body of yours splinched." I visibly cringed at the thought and slipped my hand into his. I looked over and saw Ginny and George disappear with an audible crack. Fred immediately tightened his grip and suddenly turned, taking me with him on the journey to Seaton, and to my new home.

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**Hope you enjoyed it! Chapter 4 up sometime tomorrow.**


	4. Chapter 4: Keep It Simple

**Sorry that this took so long!!! College has gotten absolutely hectic. So updates are going to probably be on the weekends now, maybe twice a week if I can find the time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of JKR's fantastic characters of storylines. I just like to mess around with some of them.  
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Even though I was able to breathe normally again and did not feel like I was being squeezed through a piece of pvc pipe, I did not open my eyes. I was afraid of seeing my new home, because then it would completely hit me that I would be living here. I tried to tell myself that it wouldn't be that bad, that there was nothing that a little magic couldn't change, but I couldn't even lie to myself. I knew that everything was changing and nothing would be the same. Hell, Amanda wasn't here with me, we weren't going to graduate together, become Aurors together. I felt my breath hitch, but I tried to hide it under a cough. The last thing I wanted to do was turn into a blubbering mess in front of Ginny and her brothers. I felt Fred squeeze my hand. I guess he was trying to reassure me, but it only made me even more aware that they were all standing there, probably watching me and wondering what the hell was taking me so long to open my eyes. I wanted to open my eyes, I really did, but I just wasn't sure if I could. I tried to pry one open slowly, but it seemed stuck. I can only imagine how ridiculous I looked.

I heard a chuckle from my left side. I guess it was pretty ridiculous. "You can open your eyes now. Nothing scary here. Actually, I take that back. George is standing over there and he can be bloody frightening at times." I opened my eyes to see George nail Fred in the arm with his fist. I slipped my hand out of Fred's, laughing as the boys starting wrestling on the front lawn. Ginny came up beside me, amusement written all over her face. I heard the word "Git", followed by "Bloody pain in the ass", and many other choice words, all made more hilarious by the broad grins that both boys wore. I could just tell that this was something that happened fairly often and I was definitely entertained by the show. I glanced up and noticed that I was standing beside a long driveway and off in the distance there appeared to be a street. I was grateful that the house was behind me; I wasn't sure if I wanted to face it just yet.

"Well, these two are going to be at this for a while. Did you maybe want to move your stuff inside and start unpacking?" I turned to Ginny, biting my lip I was going to be facing it sooner than I wanted. I glanced once more around my front yard before I nodded and turned to face my new home for the first time. I gasped as soon as I saw it.

While my new home was not as big as the one back in Santa Barbara, it was still beautiful. It was a three-story brownstone with huge bay windows in front. It looked absolutely perfect and I couldn't wait until I saw the inside. It was sure to be as beautiful as the outside. I bent down and unzipped the larger of my two suitcases. I grabbed my shrunken car and went to place it in the driveway. I returned it to its original size before popping the trunk and pulling out my other three suitcases and trunk. I flicked my wand, causing all five of my suitcases, plus my trunk, to levitate behind me before I grabbed Ginny's hand and sprinted for the front door, anxious to have a look at the inside. Ginny kept laughing until we stepped inside. We both fell silent and looked around. The main entryway was a pale green with dark hardwood floors and a sweeping staircase at the far end, up to the second and, presumably, third floors. There was an archway to the left, which looked like it opened onto a dining room. I saw that the walls were a bright orange with the same flooring as in the main entryway. Off to the right, there was a second archway. This one opened onto what seemed to be a living room. The walls in this room were deep royal purple, the hardwood floor flowing into this room as well. There were at least two other doors further down the entryway, but I suddenly was not interested in finding out what was behind them. I glanced over to the staircase, wanting to see my new room more than anything else at the moment. With my bags floating behind us, I held onto Ginny's hand as we raced up the stairs to the third floor, where I assumed my room would be.

The stairs emptied out onto a wide hallway. The walls were the same shade of green as the main room downstairs. The only difference was the flooring. Where downstairs there were dark hardwood floors, the flooring in the third floor hallway was a light hardwood. All the doors were open, allowing me to look into them as I passed. There were five doors total, two on the right and three on the left. The first door I came to, one on the right, was a small bedroom with cream walls and light wood floors. Assuming it was a guest room, I continued on to the next door, which was on the left, letting Ginny follow at her own pace. It was a very airy room, seeming to take up the entire left side of the house, with pale yellow walls, and the same hardwood floors as before. It looked like it would be a perfect living/rec room for my friends to hang out in when they came over. I walked over to the windows in the back of the room and looked down over my backyard. It was a wide expanse of grass, with trees bordering the tall privacy fencing. There was a small lake in the back right corner which looked perfect for taking a dip in during the summer, if only it wasn't so cold. I shook my head, wishing that I could have brought the climate of California over with me. I really wasn't sure if I could ever become accustomed to this cold island.

"Wow. You have the perfect sized yard for practicing Quidditch." I jumped, not having heard Ginny approach. Ginny laughed and I joined in, shaking my head at my own silliness.

"It really is. I'm really going to miss playing Quidditch back at AIM. Me, Amanda, and our friend Taylor made the best team." I glanced over at Ginny. Seeing confusion covering her features, I realized I probably needed to explain. "The three of us were Chasers together on our year teams. It's always been my favorite position." I smiled sadly, remembering how much fun it was back then.

"Ah." Ginny smiled. "I like playing Chaser too, but I prefer Seeker. The thrill of that position is just amazing."

"Yeah. But I've never had the right build to be one. Having curves doesn't help when it comes to Quidditch." Both of us laughed. It really was the truth. Being slim and short was best when it came to Quidditch, which was exactly how Ginny was built. It helped to make you move faster because of aerodynamics. Thank you Mom and Dad for teaching me Muggle subjects.

"So, do you want to check out the rest of the floor?" I turned to Ginny and nodded, the excitement of before returning. I followed Ginny over to the open door leading into the hall.

When we slipped back into the hall, Ginny and I continued on to the next two doors, both on the left. One was a small bathroom, in various shades of pale purples, and the other was a broom cupboard. Neither one really held my attention for too long. I was starting to doubt if my room was on this floor or not. I figured my parents would have made sure it was. They knew I loved being on the top floor of any house that we had. It ensured that my parents would not be able to disturb me without going out of their way. I knew that my last hope for a room on the top floor, and not on the second floor with my parents, was right across the hall from me.

The last door was at the very end of the hallway on the right. I hesitantly walked inside, followed by Ginny, and what I saw blew me away. It looked exactly like my room back in Santa Barbara. I heard Ginny gasp behind me, but neither of us said anything. I was too busy being blown back to Cali. There were two rooms, just like before, joined by an archway. The one I was standing in had bookshelves covering a majority of the wall space, with two sizeable gaps to place furniture and light wood flooring. The wall space that was open was painted cream. I let my luggage drop to the floor and continued into the next room, hearing Ginny follow me. The walls of this room were pale blue, exactly like before, except this time there were dark wood floors instead of my cream shag carpet. Off of this room, there were two doors on either side of where I would place my bed. I opened one while Ginny took the other. The door I opened revealed a room full of empty shelves and racks. My new closet. I heard Ginny gasp and hurried over to what I assumed would be my private bath. I walked in behind her and found myself stop in shock. The entire room was black and white marble. The counter tops, shower, and walls were all a pristine white, while the floors were pure black. Even the taps on the sink were a black molded marble. I noticed the toilet - or I guess I should call it the loo now - was a matching black. My parents didn't let me down. I felt a smile claim my lips.

Ginny turned to me, shock clear on her face. "Just how rich are you?" I felt myself blush, which caused her to do the same. "I'm sorry. That was rude. It's just…I've never seen anything this grand in a person's house before. I'm just shocked." She smiled at me, biting her lower lip and twirling one of her curls around a finger. I noticed these signs of embarrassment and smiled back. I knew she didn't mean anything by it. All of my friends back in America were relatively wealthy, so we never really talked about money, unless we were buying something.

"My great-grandparents on my mother's side were extremely lucky when the stock market fell in America back in the twenties. That is kind of like the banking system that we have, but not exactly. My great-grandparents were huge Muggle rights supporters, which is why they were so worried about what would happen to them when the country went bankrupt. They were one of the families that helped to get the country back on its feet by feeding money into the government. Once everything was fine with the banks again, the government gave my great-grandparents a savings bond for $1 million dollars that would appropriate over 50 years. My great-grandparents had no idea what a savings bond was, they were not so enthralled by Muggles that they followed up on every new thing they came out with, so they stored it in with some paper work of theirs. My mom, who was their only great-grandchild, found the bond the year after she left AIM and recognized its worth. She had just gotten married to my father at the time and the two of them went to cash the bond in. It was worth around $2 million by the time they cashed it in, which allowed them to live quite comfortably. They still got jobs at the Ministry in America, which paid quite well and allowed us to live like this." I waved my hand at the bathroom. "However, I would much rather not have the money and be able to see my parents every day, rather than have everything I could ever possibly want and have to fend for myself all the time. It also doesn't help that I am a terrible cook and have to make all my own meals. Most of what I cook doesn't even look edible." Both of us laughed at that, which effectively rid the room of the awkwardness that her question had inadvertently caused.

Ginny took one last look around before turning back to me. "So, did you want some help unpacking all of those bags?"

I laughed. "Yes please." We returned to the first room and each opened one of the suitcases. The one I opened was full of shrunken books and the furniture from both of my rooms back in Santa Barbara. I said a quick spell which caused everything to empty from the suitcase and fly to its appropriate place before enlarging to the correct size. I glanced over to see Ginny looking at a suitcase full of clothes, worrying her bottom lip. I chuckled under my breath, guessing that she had no clue as to what to do with them and where I wanted them to go.

"Ginny?" She glanced up at me, bottom lip still stuck between her teeth. "Why don't you open up the bags while I put everything away." Relief flowed out of her eyes as she finally let go of her bottom lip and smiled at me.

"Okay. You have a deal."

While she moved over to a new suitcase, I waved my wand at the one she just left, causing my clothes to soar towards my closet and put themselves away once there. She opened the other three suitcases full of clothes, on which I performed the same spell. After I was finished, I moved to sit on the couch by Ginny, where she had sat after opening the final bag, seeming to try to take in everything in my rooms. I looked around the room, surprised at how it looked almost exactly like my rooms back in my old house. I relaxed back on the couch, letting everything that had happened over the course of the day replay in my head. I still could not believe that I was in a completely different country, sitting in a room that looked exactly like my old one, and sharing a couch with an almost complete stranger, yet a close friend at the same time. And then there were those two boys who could still be wrestling on the front lawn. Today had definitely been a crazy day.

Thirty minutes after Angie and Ginny left the front yard, the twins were still wrestling around on the ground, though it was appearing to dwindle to an end.

"George! Get off me, you bloody git!" Fred yelled, jokingly, at his twin. He aimed a punch as his brother's ribs, which caused George to roll off him, letting out a low groan of pain. Fred jumped to his feet, then turned and offered a hand to George. "Knock it off, George. You can get up now." Another groan came from the twin still on the ground. "You are a terrible actor, George. If you wanted me to believe you were in pain, you should stop smiling like a bloody idiot," Fred added with a smirk.

Suddenly, George rolled onto his back. "I can't help if I resemble a bloody idiot. Blame my twin for that one." Fred chuckled with George at the slight jab, pulling him to his feet. "Now where did our sister run off to with that beautiful new bird? Quite lucky she's in our year, right Fred?" George looked around, a smile locked on his face. He stopped when his eyes found the car sitting in the driveway. "When did that get here? I didn't hear a car drive up."

Fred shrugged his shoulders, walking up behind his twin. "I think I saw Angie pull it out of her suitcase before you kneed me in the stomach, oh sweet brother of mine." Fred tousled George's hair, making his brother turn around and smack his hands away.

"Hey! No need to mess up my hair!" George started pushing his hair back into place, a smirk starting to appear. "I'll still be the more attractive twin."

"More attractive?" Fred scoffed. "Only in your dreams, oh ugly one."

George laughed, nudging his twin in the ribs. "We should probably go and find the girls. Merlin only knows what they've been up to." The twins shared a mischievous grin before sprinting up to the house. Upon entering, both boys paused, looking around in amazement. They had known from the outside that Angie's house was big, far bigger than the Burrow, but from the inside, it looked like a mansion. From the rich dark wood floors to the large sweeping staircase at the end of the entryway, it looked very expensive to the twins. After a minute, the twins shook their heads simultaneously and started down the hall. The entire house seemed empty. Looking left and right, they noticed that the first two rooms showed no signs of the girls. They continued down the hall, Fred taking the left, George the right. Fred came across an empty room covered in bookshelves, presumably a library, and a peach toned bathroom before reaching the staircase. George met him there, after discovering a blue bathroom, a deep green painted kitchen, and what appeared to be a yellow sun room. They continued up to the second floor, noticing that there were at least 6 rooms on this floor as well. Both boys groaned.

"Well, I think if we split up, we could find them faster and get back home to sleep."

"I like the way you think, George. Why don't you take this floor while I go up to the third." George nodded and started towards the first door while Fred mounted the stairs to the top floor. He had reached the landing and was looking in the first door on the left when he heard peals of laughter coming from further down the hall. Smiling, glad he had found the girls, and that George would be searching the second floor in vain, he followed the laughter to the last door on the right. He peeked in the door to see both girls sprawled on the floor, tears coming from their eyes, apparently from laughing so hard. He leaned against the door frame, about to say something, when his sister spoke up, trying to talk between bursts of laughter.

"It was…..soooooo funny! You……should have seen……..them! Their beards……were pure white…….and reached the ground! They…….looked like……a couple of…….old codgers!" This brought on a fresh wave of laughter from the girls. It only took a moment for Fred to realize that they were talking about himself and George, when they had tried to enter the Triwizard Tournament last year. They had taken an aging potion, hoping it would fool Dumbledore's age line. Unfortunately, it didn't work and caused two Dumbledore-like beards to suddenly appear on their faces. Shaking his head and stepping into the room, Fred decided it was time for his presence to be made known.

"You know me and George were beyond sexy in those beards." Ginny and I jolted upright, our heads swiveling to look at the boy now standing in the door way to my suite. "A couple of old codgers? That really hurt sis." Fred grabbed his heart in what appeared to be mock hurt. I stifled a giggle, but it was loud enough for both Weasleys to hear me. Ginny flashed me a glare, Fred a smirk and a wink. It was the wink that sent my heart racing and a blush to claim my cheeks. I really didn't know what to think about Fred yet. He was so bloody confusing. I groaned mentally. Great, I'm now starting to curse just like a Brit. This is just fan-freakin'-tastic.

"You and George? In fact any of my brothers? Sexy? Don't make me laugh." Yet Ginny looked far from laughing. She looked as if she had just had a batch of rotten eggs shoved under her nose. But, then again, I'm sure Amanda would look the same if her brother said he was sexy. It's just a little too creepy for a sister to think her brother is sexy. And by a little, I mean really fucking messed up!

"Well, if you are done telling Angie all about me and George and our sexy beards," Ginny cringed, "we should probably get going. Mum expected us back about an hour ago. Don't want her to go mental on us just yet." I noticed a gleam in Fred's eye when he said this, and that uneasy feeling came rushing back.

Ginny heaved a sigh and got to her feet. She looked at the watch that was on her right wrist. "Blimey, I didn't realize it was already 9:15. Did you need to grab anything before we leave, Angie?" I was about to shake my head when I heard something tapping against one of my windows. I turned and noticed a small barn owl by my bedroom window. I got up from the ground, walked over to the window, and opened it, allowing the owl to fly in and perch on my desk. I grabbed the small scroll from around its leg before it took off again. Wondering who could possibly be sending me an owl, I unrolled the message, instantly recognizing my mom's writing.

_ Angie_

_ I hope that you get this before leaving for your friend's house. I _

_ can't remember her last name for the life of me, so I couldn't send the owl _

_ to her house. Anyway, there has been an emergency at the Ministry and _

_ they need as many workers as possible. I can't go into any more detail, _

_ only to let you know that we might not be home tonight. If you are worried _

_ about spending the night there by yourself, you can always ask your friend _

_ if you can spend the night with her. _

_ Send me an owl later with your plans. We will see you tomorrow. _

_ Your dad and I send our love._

_ Mom_

I looked up from the letter to see Ginny and Fred looking at me curiously. I smiled at them. "My mom just wanted to let me know that she and Dad might not be home tonight. With that, I really don't want to spend the night here alone in this huge, empty house. Ginny, I was wondering if your offer from earlier is still open?" Fred looked very confused, probably wondering what offer I was talking about. Ginny, on the other hand, looked ecstatic.

"Of course it is! Mum will be so happy to hear that. You should probably get some clothes together. Do you need any help?" Ginny's smile was letting off so much light, I wouldn't have been surprised to hear that it might have been able to power a small city. Fred seemed to finally catch on to what was going on, though he still looked a little confused.

I returned Ginny's smile. "No, I think I should be okay by myself. Besides, I also want to get out of these clothes." George chose that moment to turn the corner into my room. His eyes went wide, whether it was because of the size of my room or what I had just said. I looked over and saw an identical look on Fred's face. I had found out long ago that if any girl mentioned something about changing clothes, any guys in the nearby area would suddenly turn and stare, looking like slack-jawed buffoons. It still didn't make me feel any less embarrassed. I felt myself blush slightly, so I turned and quickly made my way to my closet, hoping it would give me enough time for the redness in my cheeks to dim.

I entered my closet, not really shocked to see that everything was exactly where I was used to it being. I quickly found a small bright blue gym bag hanging off of the back of the door leading back to my room. I wasn't sure what all to bring, so I headed over to the closest chest of drawers, opening up the top drawer. I noticed, with relief, that it contained exactly what it should: bras, underwear, and socks. I pulled out a black and white polka dot bra and boy short set to change into tonight and a hot pink set to wear tomorrow. I also grabbed two pairs of socks, one lime green, the other electric blue. I hated plain socks. If there wasn't a bright color or fun pattern, then why wear them? With the easiest part of my packing out of the way, I closed the top drawer and opened the middle drawer, hoping that was where all my pjs were. I was not disappointed. I pulled out my black baggy sweat pants and a small white spaghetti strap tank. After closing that drawer and putting those clothes in my bag, I squatted down to the bottom drawer. I opened it, finding it full of dark wash jeans. I grabbed two pairs, both super low rise, one boot cut, the other skinny.

I tucked the boot cut jeans into the gym bag, and turned around to face the racks of shirts, skirts, and dresses sitting in the middle of the room. After flipping through a few shirts, I decided on a plain black long sleeve t-shirt for today and the deep grey off the shoulder sweater that I had picked up two days ago at Guess?. That thought made me freeze, my hand just sitting on the hanger of the sweater. I couldn't believe that it was just two days ago that I had been shopping in Los Angeles and now I was in England. It seemed like time had really flown by. It didn't seem like it was just yesterday that I had last seen Amanda. _Is it too soon to owl her? Should I wait until something interesting actually happens? Well, meeting Ginny and her twin brothers was certainly interesting, but besides that, nothing much has happened._ I let the thoughts run through my head while taking the sweater of its hanger and placing it inside my gym bag.

I walked over to a shoe rack, placed by the other door in the closet. I took off my graffiti covered Rocket Dogs and put them on the top shelf. I assumed the door went into the bathroom, though I didn't recall seeing a second door in there. I then opened the mystery door, and took a peek inside. So, there was a second door into my bathroom. _This is certainly going to be handy. No walking around my bed to get from my closet to the bathroom. _I walked inside, placing the gym bag on the floor in front of the counter top and the jeans, t-shirt, bra, underwear, and socks next to the sink. Quickly stripping down to nothing, I looked around for my hamper, realizing with a frown that it was nowhere in sight. Throwing on the black and white polka dot bra and matching boy shorts, I went to the door connecting to my room and cracked it open.

"Ginny?" From the narrow strip of open door, I couldn't see anyone but one of the twins, who happened to sprawled out on my bed. When I had called out Ginny's name, he had suddenly bolted upright, turning his body around to face me.

"Um, she and George are gone. They left as soon as you went to pack to let Mum know you were coming to spend the night. Thought it best to give her a little bit of notice." A bit of a smile crept onto his face, a mischievous glint entering his eye. "Did you need something? Help getting something on maybe? Or even off?" I had almost yanked the door open and smacked him in the head before I realized that I was only wearing my underwear and bra. Thinking that that was a bit too much to be flashing to a complete stranger, I sent him a glare instead, which I knew hadn't worked the second he began laughing.

"I just need my wand. It should be near the couch in the sitting room."

"And your point is?"

"Look Fred. It's right over there in the other room. I need to find my hamper cause I don't want to just leave my dirty clothes on my bathroom counter. I would go get it myself, but right now I am only wearing a bra and underwear." This seemed to have caught his attention. He visibly brightened up at the mention of me being almost naked. I mentally smacked myself in the face. _Talk about an over-share_. "Could you please go get it for me?" I smiled up at him, hoping he would be nice to me and go get it.

A smirk replaced his bright smile. "What will you do for me if I get it?"

"Wh…what?"

Fred got off my bed and came right up next to the door. I repositioned my body completely behind the door, with only my head at the opening, to make sure he wouldn't be able to see anything. "I said, what will you do for me if I go get your wand?" His whisper ghosted over my skin, making a small shiver make its way up my back. I looked up into his blue eyes, not sure if I knew what he meant or not. If this was Taylor, I would have just had to buy him a bag of Every Flavor Beans and some Pumpkins Pasties and he would have done anything I asked. But Fred, I wasn't sure at all what he meant.

"Wh…what did you have in mind?" I tried to sound braver than I was, but that stutter at the beginning just had his smirk growing wider.

"George and I have a party to go to tonight, only it's the kind you don't go to unless you bring someone. George is bringing one of our friends, but I haven't been able to find anyone to go with yet. If I go get your wand, you'll come as my date." My eyes flew wide at that, wondering why the hell he would want to bring me as his date when he probably had loads of girls dying for him to ask them. "Don't worry. It will just be as friends. Unless you decide you want something more." He flashed me a wink before walking off to get my wand. I stood there, not comprehending that I was going to be going to a party that night with a guy I barely knew. _Wait._ A thought suddenly occurred to me. _I haven't agreed to go with him yet. Maybe he forgot. If I can get my wand back before he remembers, then I won't have to go. _Suddenly a hand was shoved through the crack in the door, my wand in its grasp. When I reached for it, the hand suddenly disappeared.

"Not until you agree to come to the party with me." _Son of a bitch._ I shook my head, realizing he had never forgotten, he was just playing with me. Taking a deep breath, I realized I would have to do as he said.

"Fine. I'll go to the damned party with you. Now give me my wand." I held my hand out in front of the cracked door, into which he placed my wand. As I was about to slam, I mean close, the door, I heard him start to laugh. Not seeing anything funny in this entire situation, I was curious to see what caused him to laugh.

"And what is so funny?"

"Oh nothing. Just that you could have finished getting dressed and gone to get your wand yourself. Then you wouldn't have had to go to the party with me. But whatever, the deal is done. It's nothing fancy, just a group of people getting together at my friend Oliver's house. Now hurry up. Ginny and Mum are going to start thinking I've kidnapped you." With that, I pushed the door closed, hard. I couldn't believe that I had been so stupid. My clothes were four feet away from me and instead of getting dressed and getting my bloody wand myself, I let that…that…that ass convince me to go to some stupid party with him and his brother. As his DATE! DAMN HIM!!!! THAT STUPID BLOODY PRAT!!!! They have even starting rubbing off on me with their cursing. I've never said bloody anything before today, except if something actually was bloody.

With steam still pouring out of my ears, I finished getting dressed, summoned my hamper, which for some reason was in one of the bathroom cabinets. That just made me even madder. I threw all of my dirty clothes into it, and went back to my closet to find shoes, a jacket, and another shirt to wear tonight. I grabbed my new pair of black flats, new leather jacket, putting both on, and a bright blue smocked baby doll shirt before walking back into the bathroom, picking up the gym bag and putting the shirt inside, before stopping. I realized I hadn't taken a shower since yesterday morning and if I was going out tonight, I would probably at least want to not smell funky. I turned around to face the shower, reaching in to grab my Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner, strawberry body rinse, and razor. I tossed those in the bag before grabbing a fluffy towel from the stack on the counter, that following the other items into the bag. As an afterthought, I grabbed the black satin bathrobe off the back of the bathroom door and tossed it in as well. I then zipped it the gym bag and headed out into my bedroom.

"Okay. I'm ready to go." I tossed my bag at Fred, a little upset when he caught it before it hit him in the face. _Pity. _I shrugged my shoulders mentally. _Oh well. There is always next time._

"Then let's get going." He swung my bag onto his left shoulder, taking my left hand in his right. I took a breath before I felt him spin around and the feeling of being squeezed through a pvc pipe returned.

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**Once again, sorry that I'm taking so long with updates. I'm going to try and finish Chapters 5 and 6 this weekend and post them by Sunday night. **


	5. Chapter 5: Into Your Arms

**SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I feel so bad that I didn't get this up last weekend. I had the worst case of writer's block ever and just couldn't seem to finish the chapter.**

**Dislaimer: I do not own any of the pure brilliance that is JKR's world of Harry Potter. Which, unfortunately, includes Fred and George. :(  
**

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This time, as soon as I could breathe normally, I let go of Fred's hand, opened my eyes, and started to walk away from him. Unfortunately, my legs seemed to have another idea in mind. It seemed they did not like Apparating so many times in so short a period and chose that moment to tell me. I felt both of my legs start to give out on me.

"What the fu..!?"

Just as I was about to collapse, Fred was in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist, holding me up. Which caused my chest to be plastered against his chest. I was very aware of every inch of my skin that was touching his. I don't remember when but my hands had grabbed at his shoulders, I'm guessing to try and keep balance.

"Blimey. You okay Angie?"

I looked up to his face, surprised to see actual concern there. I thought he would be cracking a joke or something at my apparent klutziness. Hell, my klutziness was known throughout AIM. Then it hit me that he would know absolutely nothing about that. It was nice for someone to not know, to not have to be the brunt of many jokes. I smiled up at him, wanting to diffuse the situation.

"Wow, Fred. You sure know how to make a girl go weak in the knees." He gave me a small smirk which didn't reach his eyes. I gently pushed on his shoulders, trying to give him the hint to let go of my waist. Fred loosened his grip, but didn't completely let go. I let out a sigh, arched an eyebrow at him, and pushed a little harder. This time the smirk that crossed his face was 100% him. He arched his own eyebrow back at me, his grip on my waist tightening instead of loosening. As I was opening my mouth to ask what in the world he thought he was doing, a very loud scream rent the air.

"FRED WEASLEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" I cringed at the sudden noise, noticing Fred cringing also, except in pain. I opened my mouth, again, to ask him what was wrong, when I was interrupted, again.

"THIS GIRL HAS BARELY BEEN IN THE COUNTRY FOR HALF A DAY AND YOU ARE PROBABLY MAKING HER WANT TO LEAVE ALREADY, HAVING YOUR HANDS ALL OVER HER!" I finally turned towards the noise, seeing a short, round woman with a mass of curly red hair. I figured she was Mrs. Weasley, especially with the way she was yelling at Fred and sending him looks that could melt the polar ice caps. It was then that I noticed that Fred had finally let go of my waist and had backed away a few paces. I felt really bad for him, mainly because he didn't deserve to be yelled at like this. He hadn't been manhandling me, yet that seemed to be what his mom thought. I turned to Mrs. Weasley, about to explain all of this to her, when she interrupted me, for the third time.

"Now I don't blame you Angie, dear. I shouldn't have let the twins take Ginny to meet you. It probably would have been better to have Bill or Charlie go with her. Now don't worry dear. I'll make sure this doesn't happen again under my watch." At that, she sent a withering look at Fred, who, surprisingly, just smiled through it. I, however, had had just about enough. I wasn't one to let someone get yelled at for something they didn't do. Determined to be heard this time, I opened my mouth a fourth time, surprised when I didn't hear someone trying to interrupt me.

"Mrs. Weasley, it seriously wasn't like that. When we got here, my legs gave out on me and all Fred did was catch me before I hit the ground. Nothing else happened." Well, except for him not wanting to let go, but that was probably just out of concern. And then there was him tricking me into going to that stupid party later tonight, but I knew that would not be a good thing to mention, especially is I wanted to keep my eardrums in working condition. I saw a look of disbelief appear on Mrs. Weasley's face. Clearly she didn't believe this certain son would ever do something like that. Fortunately though, she seemed to think it was pointless to argue. Instead, she came straight over to me and pulled me into a giant bear hug. I felt air painfully leave my lungs as I awkwardly patted the older woman's back. I saw Fred trying to contain his laughter behind his mother's back. I sent, what I hoped was, a menacing glare his way, almost wishing I had let his mom believe that he had tried something with me. Just then Mrs. Weasley let go and I quickly plastered a smile on my face.

"What is it with my children's friends and not eating enough? Tsk tsk tsk. Well, Ginny is waiting for you in her room. It's on the first floor, just up the stairs on your left." With that, she turned around, heading back towards the house. "I'll have something to eat ready soon, dear. I'll come get you when it's done." She disappeared inside the house, leaving me standing there speechless. This was partly because of everything that had just happened, but mainly because I finally took a good look at the Weasley house. To put it simply, their house was fantastic. It looked to be about seven stories high, yet not like a normal seven story building. It almost looked like a two year old had taken a bunch of blocks and haphazardly stacked them up, miraculous having them not fall over. Yet, in this case, I guess it wasn't too miraculous since this is a family of wizards. Still, this house exuded a feeling of family and home that I don't think my house ever could, and that was only from seeing the outside.

I felt someone, presumably Fred, come up behind me, yet I was shocked when one arm snaked around my waist while another, from a totally different person, laid itself atop my shoulders. I whipped my head from side to side, seeing one twin on each side. I had no idea when George had gotten out here, but I was fairly sure that he was the one on my right, with his arm around my waist, even though he had my gym bag. I remembered that George had more freckles than Fred did, which the twin on the right did. I figured that they were trying to confuse me, like they seemed to confuse so many. Smiling up at George, I decided to test my theory.

"So, care to show me to Ginny's room, George?" I almost bit my tongue off, seeing George's eyes bug the way they did. I thought that they were going to fly out of his face. I looked over at Fred, seeing an identical look on his face. I guess I was right, no one knew how to tell the two apart. Except for me, it seemed.

Fred and George stared at each other, identical masks of shock and horror covering their faces. No one, not even their own mum, had ever been able to tell them apart. It gave the twins endless pleasure to confuse the shite out of everyone when it came down to determining who was who. How could this American come here, barely even know them, and be able to tell them apart, all in the course of one day? Fred looked down at himself, noticing that he was dressed exactly like George, from the messy red hair to the orange knock-off chucks. _How had Angie been able to tell us apart?_ Fred noticed that the small witch between him and George was looking up at both of them, a triumphant grin lighting up her face. Fred flicked his gaze back towards George, searching his face for answers. The twins held each others gazes for a moment, before identical smirks came upon their faces. It appeared that Angie had finally taken her eyes off the two of them and was looking back towards the Burrow, which gave the boys the perfect moment to carry out their plan.

I looked up at Fred and George, letting my happiness at being able to tell them apart shine through. I had to admit, that totally made up for having to go to this party with the two of them tonight. Seeing that the two were trying to communicate to each other without speaking, I turned my attention back to the house. It really was quite pretty, though not in the normal sense of the word. I loved the thrown together look, with rooms jutting out from the rest of the house at impossible angles. It was a true work of….

"AHHHHH!!!!!" A shriek ripped itself from my mouth as I was suddenly grabbed and thrown over one of the twins' shoulders. I opened my mouth to tell them to put me the fuck down, only to not hear anything. One of the bastards must have put a silencing charm on me after I had started screaming. Without being able to scream for help, I resigned myself to beating my fists against the back of the one carrying me and trying to aim a kick below the belt. After the first kick missed and hit his thigh, I heard him chuckle and wrap an arm around my legs, successfully pinning them to his chest, not allowing them any sizable movement.

"Now that wasn't very nice Angie." This came from the twin holding me.

"Forge here could have gotten hurt." This came from in front of me. I guess the other twin was walking behind his brother, keeping an eye on me.

"I don't think that any of us…"

"Would have wanted that, would we Forge?"

"I have to agree with you there Gred."

My head was spinning from the back and forth talk that the twins were doing. I knew that they were doing it to annoy to me, probably because I had figured out how to tell the difference between them. I had no idea where they were taking me, but I figured that it probably wouldn't be Ginny's room. I also had no clue what they were talking about with this 'Gred and Forge' nonsense. I guess that it was just one more way for them to try and confuse me. I brought my hands up to my face to push my blonde hair out of the way from where it had fallen over my face. I leaned my elbows against the back of the twin holding me, allowing me to not have to stare at his ass. I looked up to see the other twin, I wasn't sure which one this was since I couldn't compare the number of freckles, smirking at me, my bag thrown over his shoulder. I glared at him, since that was all I really could do, silencing charm still in place. I could only be grateful that I hadn't worn a skirt today, otherwise these two would have gotten quite an eye full. I glanced around, noticing that they were walking around to the front of the house, probably to avoid Mrs. Weasley seeing me like this. I turned my attention back to the twin walking behind me, shooting another glare his direction. This just caused him to laugh.

I heard a door open and suddenly I was inside their living room. It looked so cozy, with a large sofa and a few armchairs. I heard music coming from somewhere. It sounded like some kind of love song, but it sounded awful. Something about cauldrons and hot, strong love. I don't know. I glanced around, noticing there were random items strewn about the room, but before I could look more closely at them, we were mounting the stairs, causing to bounce quite uncomfortably on a certain twin's shoulder. After the first step, my elbows lost their grip on his back and I slipped back down. Which caused both twins to laugh even more. As soon as we reached the first landing, I was hoping that they would put me down and let me go into Ginny's room, but they just continued up the stairs. On the second landing, the one holding me stopped and opened the door to his left. Not being able to see the room, I started wondering where I was before I was suddenly dropped onto a bed. I would have asked where the fuck I was, if I had been able to talk.

I quickly maneuvered into a sitting position, flipping my hair back from my face, and looked around the room. It was a pretty nice sized room, though it smelled like something had just blown up. I took in the two twin beds, realizing the irony in that with a mental groan, a large dresser with a mirror over it, and lots of cardboard boxes. There were also lots of clothes strewn about the floor. I looked down at the bed I was sitting on and noticed that I was sitting on a red and gold Quidditch jersey and a blue t-shirt. Thankfully these looked halfway clean, otherwise I would have been completely grossed out. I turned my attention to the twins, one of whom was leaning against the dresser, the other against the bedroom door. Looking closer, I noticed that Fred was the closer of the two, leaning against the dresser, leaving George by the door. I opened my mouth, surprised when I heard myself begin to speak, thinking that the silencing charm was still in place.

"What the fuck was that about? Do you make it a habit to kidnap your little sister's friends and drag them off to your room? And I hope that you have some good bruise balm on hand cause I'm pretty sure that trip up the stairs left a huge mark on my stomach." I took turns shooting glares between both of them, which did pretty much nothing, except cause large grins to cover their faces.

"Fuck, Angie?" Fred lifted his eyebrow at me.

"I wouldn't have expected such language out of you." George smirked over at me.

"Not very lady like."

"Not in the slightest."

"Now what are we going to do about that?'

"Soap? I've heard that cleans dirty things." Both boys burst out laughing, while I sat on one of their beds, in silence. Once they were done, I lifted an eyebrow.

"Quite done you two? Now why don't you answer my questions, instead of trying to annoy me."

George shot a look at Fred before turning back to me. "Well, first off, we brought you here to ask you some questions, mainly about how you could tell us apart." A frown flashed across his face. Obviously this really bothered him. "No one has ever been able to do that before, not even Mum."

"Secondly," Fred continued, "We don't generally kidnap Gin's friends. Mostly because they are annoying fourth years and really hold no interest to us."

"And about the bruise balm," George finished. "There is some in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom right across the hall."

"Oh, and I left your bag outside Gin's room," Fred added.

"Okay." I was relieved that they had actually answered my questions. Though, now I was curious as to what kind of questions they would be asking me. "What questions did you have for me?" I looked between the two brothers.

"First, what specifically made you able to tell that I was George and Fred was Fred?" George walked over and sat down on the bed next to me, curiosity dripping from his eyes.

"Well," I began. "I guess it was your freckles mostly." Both shot me looks of confusion, causing me to chuckle. "What I meant was that your freckles are different. George, you have more freckles that Fred does, and Fred's are a bit darker."

Fred and George looked at each other before both of them quickly went to the mirror and examined their faces. I wanted to laugh at how ridiculous they both looked. Fred looked like he was trying to count how many both he and his brother had, while George was just swiveling his eyes back and forth between his image in the mirror and his brother's. After a few minutes of this, the two boys looked at each other, looking at a loss for words.

"We have known each other…" Fred started, sadness evident in his voice.

"And looked at each other…" George continued in the same voice as Fred.

"Every single day…"

"Since we were born…"

"How could we not have noticed this?" the twins finished together.

I looked at both of them, looking so helpless and sad, unable to stop the frown that claimed my lips. I knew I was responsible for this sudden realization and I felt horrible. I wanted to make it better somehow, but I had no clue as to what to do. I guess I must have been really concentrating because I suddenly felt the bed dip on either side of me. I hadn't even noticed Fred and George move, yet there they were. They had laid back on the bed, heads resting on their arms. I turned over, laying on my stomach, which still hurt from the trip up the stairs, and leaned on my elbows.

"Guys." Both of them looked at me. "I'm really sorry."

George smiled at me. "Don't worry about it, Angie. It just caught us by surprise is all." But I could tell that he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince me.

"Well, I should probably go find Ginny. She's probably wondering where I've gotten off to." I got off the bed and crossed to the door. I paused before I opened it, turning back to look at Fred. "Fred?" He lifted his head, giving me a questioning look. "What time should I be ready tonight?"

George threw Fred a curious look, but Fred smiled up at me before answering. "Be ready before dinner. We're leaving after we're finished." I nodded and left the room closing the door behind me, but not before I heard George ask Fred what the fuck I was talking about. Laughing I made my way down the stairs, noticing all the pictures on the walls. Every single person in each picture had red hair, of varying shades, and either bright blue eyes or deep chocolate ones. I smiled as I came across a picture of two little boys. I figured they were the twins, since each was wearing a sweater, one with an 'F' on the front, the other with a 'G'. The boys in the picture were currently helping each other to get out of the play pen they were stuck in. It was beyond adorable.

I continued down the stairs to the first landing. I noticed my bag on the floor outside one of the doors and picked it up. Swinging it over my shoulders, I knocked on the door and opened it cautiously, in case I had picked the wrong door.

The room that I entered was definitely a girl's room. The walls were a pale lavender, but they were barely visible under all of the band and Quidditch posters that covered the walls. The Weird Sisters really jumped out at me, but then again, how could they not. They were a group of eight males with extremely long hair, lots of them having some kind of beard or goatee, wearing torn black robes. They were pretty good for a wizarding band, but I loved my Muggle bands more. I would take Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship over Myron Wagtail, lead singer of Weird Sisters, any day.

Unlike the twins' room, Ginny's was pretty much clean. No clothes thrown around, no mysterious smells. It was a welcome relief. The only thing that looked even a little out of place was a second bed that was against the left side wall, stuck between a bookshelf and a dresser. I guessed that that was where I was going to be staying.

When I had walked in, Ginny had looked up from the magazine she had been looking at. Dropping it on the bed beside her, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's about time you got here. I thought Fred had kidnapped you or something." She started laughing and I joined in, hoping to avoid any discussion about Fred and George actually kidnapping me.

"So, your mom said that lunch was almost ready whenever I got here. Should we head down or…?" I let myself drift off, not quite sure what to say. I admitted to myself that I felt a bit out of place. I didn't really know Ginny that well, and most of her family were complete strangers to me. I didn't quite know what I was supposed to do.

"No. Mum will get mad if we go down early and get in her way. She'll call when it's ready. In the meantime, I don't know, do you want to see the rest of the house? There really isn't that much that you missed coming up here. The rest of the house is pretty much my brothers' bedrooms and then my parent's room. Nothing really interesting." Ginny shrugged, dropping back down on her bed. "Have you heard if you are going to Hogwarts yet?"

I walked over to her bed, sitting down next to her. "Yeah, I found out on Wednesday that I'm going. Your, well I guess our, headmaster sent me an owl, along with lists of everything I need. I am desperately in need of going shopping for robes and books."

Ginny gave me a questioning look. "Robes? Did you grow out of your old ones or something?"

"No. It's just that the robes I had at AIM are completely different from what I expect the robes for Hogwarts are going to be. Here, let me show you." I went and grabbed my bag from where I had dropped it by the door. Opening it, I pulled out my black satin robe and turned back to Ginny. "This is pretty much what my robes for AIM looked like, except they were a dark green, the skirt was fuller, and it was a very lightweight cotton. I'm guessing the robes at Hogwarts don't look like this."

Ginny just kept staring at the robe in my hand, a peculiar look on her face. I had no clue what was going on in her head and was about to ask her when she started laughing quietly. At least, it started out quietly. It kept building and building until she fell back on her bed, clutching her stomach. I stood there, my robe slipping out of my hand, staring at Ginny, not sure what had possessed her.

"Ginny? What's so funny?"

"I was…just…imagining my…brothers…in those…robes. How…do the…guys at AIM…stay straight?" Ginny sputtered out between laughing.

I looked down at the robe that had fallen on the floor, unwanted images of Fred and George coming to mind. Mainly images of them wearing the robes that I had just described. I wasn't sure if I should be grossed out or laugh my head off. So, I just started laughing with Ginny, and trying to banish those images from my mind for good.

I heard the door behind me open, but I didn't bother to turn around, figuring it was either the twins or Ginny's mom.

"Well, it seems you two are getting along nicely." I turned around to face Mrs. Weasley, finally putting a stop to my laughter.

"Yep. Just talking about Hogwarts, Mum. When are we going shopping for supplies anyways?" It seemed Ginny had managed to get her laughter under control also.

"I was thinking we would go tomorrow afternoon. Would you care to join us, Angie? You would be more than welcome, dear." Mrs. Weasley gave me a warm smile, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"That would be great, Mrs. Weasley. There are some things that I needed to pick up anyway."

"Good. It's settled then." She flashed me another smile before continuing. "I just wanted to let you know that lunch is ready. If you could tell your brothers for me, Ginny?" At Ginny's nod, the older woman went on. "Well, I'll just be off then. I promised your father I would meet him at the Ministry for his lunch break, so you kids have the house to yourselves. I expect you two to keep an eye on Fred and George for me. I don't want the house to be burnt to the ground when I get back." With that said, Mrs. Weasley turned around and headed back out of the room, closing the door behind her.

I turned back to Ginny, who had a large, mischievous smile on her face. It reminded me so much of the look that I had seen on Fred's face earlier that it was more than a little creepy. Feeling a nervous smile start to form on my face, I cleared my throat before speaking.

"Ginny? What's that look for?"

"Oh, nothing in particular. Just imagining what a fun night it's going to be."

"What are you talking about?"

"Tonight is my mum and dad's weekly night to themselves, which means that we get the house to ourselves. I can only imagine what the twins have in mind for tonight." At that thought, her smile got even wider.

As comprehension dawned on me, I started feeling bad again. I guess Ginny had no clue about the party Fred and George were taking me to tonight. Which would then mean that she would be stuck here alone. I really didn't want to do that to her, but I really didn't see a way out of going with the twins. I had a feeling that I would be going, whether I went quietly or not.

"Ginny?" When she looked up at me, I cleared my throat, which had gotten quite dry, to continue. "Fred and George are going to a party at one of their friend's houses. And Fred managed to trick me into agreeing to go with him. The three of us wont be here tonight." I smiled apologetically at her, hoping she wouldn't be mad at me.

I was completely blown away when, instead of getting mad, she let out a squeal of what I guess was happiness and bounded over to her desk, which was to the right of her bedroom door. I stared at her, not quite sure what to make of what was happening. She was scratching off a note to someone, quite quickly at that, before blowing it dry and rolling it up. Ginny turned around, grabbed my hand, and pulled me out of her room and down the stairs after her.

I allowed her to drag me along, still not sure what had gotten into her. I turned my head to look behind me while still on the stairs and noticed one of the twins leaning out around the corner of the second floor landing, an amused smirk on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him, right before I almost tripped down the next stair. Facing Ginny again, I concentrated on not falling.

When we reached the ground floor, Ginny turned to the left, bypassing the living room and heading further back into the house. I followed her through a door, realizing, once I stepped through, that I had just entered the kitchen and dining room. It was a really cozy room, with a large fireplace and lots of counter space to the right and an extremely long table in the middle of the room, with miss-matched chairs surrounding it. The table was covered in different food, but I didn't pay much attention to what kinds. I looked around seeing Ginny at the far left by a table that held a large cage, inside of which were two owls. I noticed one was my Tessa, while the other was one I didn't recognize. Ginny grabbed this owl and attached the letter to it's leg, before taking it over to an open window.

"Now bring this straight to Harry and Hermione. And make sure they send back a response," Ginny said sternly to the owl, before letting it fly out the window.

"Ginny? What the hell was all that about?" Ginny turned around to face me, a grin spreading over her face again.

"Well, since you are going out with my brothers tonight," I started sputtering at that, but Ginny didn't pause. "I decided to see if a couple of my friends wanted to come over for a little while." Her innocent smile was just a little bit too much for me.

I raised my eyebrow at her. "Friends, huh? And who is this Harry that you mentioned? A boyfriend perhaps? Do Fred and George know about him?" I could see Ginny's eyes getting wider at every question I asked, until my final question caused her eyes to snap into barely visible slits.

"He's just a friend. He only sees me as his best friend's younger sister. I invited him for Ron, who is probably still asleep in his room right now. I invited Hermione for me. She is one of my best friends, and also happens to be one of Ron's. And if you mention that I like Harry to Fred, George, or any of my other brothers, I will not be afraid to hex you into oblivion. No offense." The bright smile she flashed me after that final statement made goose bumps pop up all over my arms. I nodded my head slowly.

"Good." Ginny nodded, making her way over to the table that was covered in food. I then took in the different foods that covered the table. I saw Shepherd's pie, what looked like fish and chips, baked potatoes with fixings, a pot of steaming French onion soup, a platter of different cooked vegetables, and finally what looked like lumpy rolls and a dish of gravy. I looked up to see Ginny grabbing plates out of a cabinet.

"Is there anything I can do to help, Ginny?" Ginny turned around and placed the plates on the table.

"Yeah. Can you go get Fred, George and Ron and tell them lunch is ready?"

"Um. Sure. But where is Ron's room?"

"It's at the top of the stairs. Have the twins show you." Ginny turned back around, searching through cabinets again.

I turned around, slowly making my way back to the stairs. I was beginning to feel the jet lag set in and I knew it wouldn't be too long before I passed out from exhaustion. Hopefully I would make it through lunch before that happened.

I had just gotten onto the first landing when I realized I still had my leather jacket on. Taking it off, I tossed it into Ginny's room before I continued up to the second landing, pushing the sleeves of my black t-shirt up to my elbows. I reached the landing and knocked on the twins' door. When the door opened, I glanced up, only to have my gaze freeze. The twin that opened the door, I think it was George, was standing there with only a towel wrapped around his waist. I was used to seeing shirtless guy since I lived in California. It was a real shock if I didn't see one, considering I spent most of my time on the beach. I raised my eyebrow at him, wondering why he was lounging around only wearing a towel.

"Did you need something, Angie?" He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame. I had to admit that he did have some amazing looking bicep muscles.

"Ginny wanted me to let you know that lunch was ready. Your mom just left to meet your dad for lunch at the Ministry. And I'm also supposed to find your brother Ron, except I don't know where his room is." He opened his mouth to say something when I felt a pressure on my shoulders. I turned my head and saw the other twin, his elbows on my shoulders, hair wet from a shower, and just as bare-chested as his brother. I realized just then that they were completely identical when it came to muscle tone. They both had chests that would rival the Greek gods. And I was standing in between them. I'm sure that many girls fantasized about my position at the moment. I pushed the twin behind me out of the way, putting more space between the three of us.

"Will you both get dressed and show me where your brother's room is?" I turned around to face them, seeing that the second twin had mimicked his brothers stance against the opposite side of the door frame.

"What? Do you not want to see me and Fred in all of our masculine glory?" This came from the twin that had been in their room. I was slightly proud of myself for correctly guessing that he was George.

"That really hurts, Angie." Fred placed his hands over his heart in mock hurt.

"We've worked hard to look this attractive." George smirked over at me, missing the glint that had entered Fred's eyes.

"I'm not sure about you, dear brother, but I haven't worked that hard. I was always this attractive."

"You? The attractive one? I think you might have tested one too many of our products there, oh slightly uglier brother of mine."

While I was entertained by the 'fight' that Fred and George were having, I was also starting to get very hungry. Thinking that they probably would keep this up for a while, I walked over and back-handed both of them in the stomach. Both boys let out a slight grunt of pain. "Boys, I really don't care about your egos right now. My stomach is screaming at me to get some food. Just show me where Ron's room is so that I can eat." Fred and George both laughed, though their hands were now protecting their stomachs.

"Just give us a second," George stated, turning around and walking into the room.

"Don't want to scare Ron with my amazing good looks." Fred gave me a wink before following his twin into the room, closing the door. I stood there for a second, shaking my head. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, hissing in pain when I pressed against the newly formed bruise. Remembering what George had told me earlier, I walked over to the bathroom and found the medicine cabinet. The sink and cabinet were at the back of the bathroom, partially hidden by the shower.

What I saw when I opened the cabinet blew me away. It was not even a normal sized medicine cabinet. It had been magically enhanced and was about 50 times the size of a normal one. I could see potions, tonics, balms, and salves for pretty much any injury a person could get. Knowing it could take all day to find the bruise balm by going through each bottle and phial, I pulled my wand from my back pocket and summoned it forward. A small beige cylinder came forward from the back of the cabinet. Opening it, I saw the familiar purple paste. I lifted my shirt up, baring my stomach and the large blackening bruise that was forming. Dipping two fingers into the paste, I quickly covered the entire bruise, which covered a good portion of my stomach, before putting the lid back on the balm and setting it back inside the cabinet.

I heard a noise toward the door of the bathroom. I looked over and saw a boy with messy red hair walk in. He obviously wasn't Fred or George, so I figured he had to be the missing brother, Ron. He was wearing a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt. I was about to say something when he kicked the door closed and started taking his shirt off. I blinked in surprise, mainly because he was striping in front of me, but also because he looked nothing like his older brothers. This boy just looked nerdy. He was super tall, maybe taller than the twins, yet didn't appear to have an ounce of muscle on his body. When he finally had his shirt off, I almost gagged at the pasty whiteness that assaulted my eyes. It looked like he had never seen the sun in his entire life! Before he could even reach for his pants, I decided it was time to make myself known. And also cause a little mischief.

"FRED!!! GEORGE!!!" I screamed out, causing the boy in the room to jump. He looked around and finally found me back by the sink. He gave me a weird look, but before he could say anything, the bathroom door burst open and there stood Fred and George.

Fred and George were in their room, changing into some clean clothes. Once Angie had left their room earlier, they had realized they probably wouldn't be getting to back to sleep anytime soon. They had taken turns with the bathroom, with George going first after beating Fred in a quick game of exploding snap. After George had gotten out, Fred jumped in. When he walked out of the bathroom, he noticed Angie and George standing in the doorway to his bedroom. After teasing her for a bit, both Fred and George walked into their bedroom to get dressed. Fred already had on a pair of dark wash jeans and was pulling on a blue button-up, while George, wearing a grey button-up, was buttoning an identical pair of dark wash jeans in place, when they heard Angie scream out their names. They exchanged a look, before running out the door and across the hall to the bathroom, where they thought her voice had come from.

When they flung the bathroom door open, the sight that was in front of them shocked them into silence. There stood their half naked younger brother Ron in the middle of the room. It took a moment, but they both finally found Angie standing at the back of the room, leaning against the sink, her arms crossed over her chest, her t-shirt baring her stomach, which was covered in purple bruise balm.

I noticed Fred and George exchange a look after they burst into the bathroom. Ron was still standing in the middle of the room, looking from Fred and George to me and back again.

"Okay. Since no one else is saying anything, I might as well. Who the bloody hell are you and what are you doing in our loo?!" Ron threw at me, his face turning red. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, I don't think I'll ever know. I saw George step forward and smack Ron across the head.

"OW! What the fuck?" Ron raised a hand to cover his head, sending George a heated glare.

"I think the better question, Ron, is what the fuck are you doing in here, half naked, with Angie?" Fred stepped up next to George, both folding their arms over their chests, staring pointedly at Ron.

"Angie? You mean you're Ginny's friend from America?" Ron turned to look at me, his eyes traveling from my toes to my head, stopping at my chest. I rolled my eyes. _Typical teenage boy._

"Hello? My eyes are up here." Ron's eyes snapped up to my face and I was certain that the flush on his face was due to embarrassment this time. Fred and George each punched one of his arms, causing him to let out a scream in pain.

"Well maybe if you weren't a creeper, that wouldn't have happened." I smiled at Ron before turning my attention to the twins. "Thanks for saving me. But I need to get back downstairs. Lunch is ready and I am starving. And could you please put a shirt on, Ron. Your albino skin is blinding me." I walked out of the room, giving Fred and George a slight wrist squeeze before leaving.

As I walked down the stairs, I heard footsteps behind me and saw Fred and George following me. I slowed to let them catch up with me. As they drew even with me, Fred wrapped his arm around my shoulders, while George wrapped his around my waist, effectively sandwiching me between them.

"So," Fred began. "About screaming our names like that."

"We don't want you screaming our names in that way…" George continued.

"Unless it is for a really good reason." Fred winked at me.

"And the only good reason I can think of…" George said with a smirk.

"Is if you are screaming them in bed with us." Fred smirked as I raised my eyebrow at him. I shook my head before looking back up.

"Sorry, boys. But I don't sleep with brothers at the same time." I slipped out of their grip as they froze on the first floor landing. I turned to see their mouths opening and closing, closely resembling fish. I laughed and walked down a couple more stairs before turning back.

"However, I never said anything about twins." I winked at their shocked faces before walking down the final steps and continuing into the kitchen.

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**I'm really not sure when Chapter 6 is going to be finished. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend, but I have a friend coming in to stay in my dorm over the weekend. I'm not sure how much work is going to get done. Please be patient. **

**But, if you feel like it, yell at me all you want to update. It might get me to write faster.**

**Oh, and don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6: It's Warmer In the Basement

**Author's Note: I am sooooooooooo sorry about how long it has been since my last update. I have had the worst case of writer's block ever and have finally gotten over it. I hope that this super long chapter makes up for it in some way! And it might be helpful to go back to Chapter 5 to reread at least the end, just in case you forgot what has happened so far. So, I hope that you enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, and unfortunately never will, own anything of JKR's.  
**

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Fred and George stared at the retreating back of Angie. They waited until she was out of sight before they turned to each other, identical grins on their faces.

"She's bloody brilliant," they said at the exact same time. With a glance down the stairs, they both took off after her.

When I entered the kitchen, I saw Ginny sitting at the table, arms crossed and tapping her foot on the ground. I offered her an apologetic smile before sitting down on her left. Fred and George came in not even a second later, both grinning like idiots. _But adorable idiots._ I shook my head. _Where the hell did that come from?_ I saw Ginny glare at the two of them, but they only grinned at her, George ruffling her hair as he passed. Fred grabbed the seat on my right while George squeezed himself between me and Ginny. Ginny raised her eyebrow at the three of us while I rolled my eyes. _Seems they might have taken my twin comment seriously. Fantastic._ Fred started to reach for one of the lumpy rolls when Ginny turned her fiery chocolate eyes on him.

"Touch it and die. We have to wait for Ron."

"The git is taking a shower! You know how long his showers last. It could be dinner by the time he gets out!" George protested as Fred dropped his hand back, glaring at his little sister.

"Fine. Then dig in. But at least leave him something," Ginny conceded as she reached for a baked potato. I wondered what she meant by leaving some for Ron. There had to be at least enough food on the table to feed a small army. But as soon as the twins started pilling food on their plates, it suddenly became clear to me. Both Fred and George ate like they would never have another meal in their lives. I waited until the two were done filling their plates before getting anything for me. I grabbed one of the lumpy rolls, a baked potato, onto which I put some sour cream, and a small bowl of French onion soup. As I began to eat my soup, I saw Fred look over at me, shock on his face.

"Is that all you're eating?"

"Yeah. It doesn't take much to fill me up." It was the honest truth. I seemed to have a stomach the size of a baby's fist. I could tell that he was bothered by my not eating, but Fred just shook his head and concentrated on his own food.

Ron walked in without a word and sat at the table, piling food onto his plate in the same way his older brothers did. We continued to eat in silence. I figured out that what I thought were lumpy rolls were actually Yorkshire puddings. They really weren't that bad, especially covered in gravy. I finished eating before everyone else. I felt a yawn coming and tried to mask it in my hand. I looked up to see Ginny giving me a look and motioning upstairs. I nodded.

"Well, I'm super tired, and if you want me to be alive for the party tonight Fred, I'm going to go take a quick nap." Fred and George both looked up and nodded before returning to their food. Ron, on the other hand, just glared at me before shoving more food into his mouth. _Well at least he has a shirt on, _I reminded myself. I flicked my wand at my plate, causing it to fly to the sink and wash itself. I left the kitchen and went up to Ginny's room.

Once I was there, I closed the door and changed into my tank top and sweat pants. I laid down on the extra bed, barely hitting the pillow before falling asleep.

I felt really groggy whenever I woke up. My head hurt like none other and it seemed like something I ate earlier in the day had not agreed with me. I just felt like going right back to sleep. I rolled over onto my right side, my hand falling on something hard. Confused, I opened one eye, only to fling the other one open and back across the bed, hitting another hard object. Flipping my head over, I saw that I was trapped between the twins, both of whom were awake and smirking at me. I recognized Fred as the one facing me, while George was the one almost spooning me from behind. I saw that both of them were fully clothed, thank Merlin, but, looking down at myself, I noticed that my sweats had migrated down and were resting rather low on my hip bones, while the bottom of my tank had migrated up and was resting right under my chest. I vaguely noticed that the bruise from earlier was completely gone before looking back up at the twins.

"Wha…What the hell are you two doing here?" I was a little creeped out that I was sharing a bed with Fred and George, so I was hoping for some kind of logical explanation to set me at ease. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of any logical explanations as to why they would be in bed with me.

"Well…" Fred started.

"About that…" George began at the same time. The twins looked at each other before Fred nodded.

"Ginny and Ron went over to visit their friends Harry and Hermione at Snuffles' house," Fred began again.

"Which left me and Fred here, with you asleep," George added, taking a lock of my hair and twirling it in his finger.

"We found ways to keep ourselves busy, but now it's almost 7."

"You missed dinner by the way. There are some left over's in the oven if you're hungry," George offered.

"No thanks. I'm really not that hungry." I smiled up at George.

"Which means that you need to get up and get dressed. Wood wants us at his house in an hour." George dropped my hair.

"I still don't see how that explains how you got in my bed." I sat up on the bed, moving until I was facing the twins.

"Well, Georgie here came to wake you up about 15 minutes ago. I really don't know what happened but…"

"What happened," George interrupted, "was I shook your arm to wake you up, but you just grabbed on and rolled over, pulling me onto the bed after you." I felt my eyes widen. Surely I hadn't.

"I came up because I wasn't sure what was taking him so long. When I walked in, I saw George with him arm around you, but he looked bloody confused." A small smirk came over Fred's face.

"Well, of course I was bloody confused! It's not every day a gorgeous witch, that I barely know, pulls me into bed with her." George sent me a wink. I smiled weakly in return, not quite sure what to believe.

"If I pulled George into bed with me, then what the hell are you doing here too?" I looked up at Fred and George, noticing them both get a little nervous. George kept running his fingers through his hair, while Fred chewed on his bottom lip. "Just tell me, Fred. It can't be that bad." At the small blush that appeared on Fred's face, I suddenly had the feeling that it could be very bad.

"Well, I was about to leave George alone to deal with the situation, when you rolled over, burying your head into George's chest. I heard you moan my name, snuggling into my brother. I sat down here, unable to believe what I had just heard you say." Fred looked at everything except me when he finished, obviously thinking that I would be appalled, or at least embarrassed, at this sudden revelation.

However, I really wasn't. I knew what was going on here. I used to date a guy named Fred Jacobi. He was my first serious boyfriend I had ever had. We used to spend at least one night a week over at his house, curled up on his couch, watching a movie. I would almost always fall asleep, mainly because cuddling with him was like cuddling with a cloud. I guess that when I had rolled over and cuddled against George, it reminded my subconscious of my ex, and I said his name.

"Fred, I wasn't saying your name." Fred and George looked up at me, confusion wrinkling their brows.

"No, we both heard you say 'Fred' quite clearly."

"Quite hard to confuse my name with anything else."

"No," I said, chuckling quietly. "What I meant was I wasn't talking about you. I'm pretty sure I was saying the name of my ex-boyfriend, Fred Jacobi. We used to cuddle all the time, so I guess that is why I said 'Fred' when I was cuddling against George." Looking over at George, I smiled slightly. "And sorry about that George. I hope things won't be awkward now." I turned to look at both the boys, watching them look at each other. Obviously they were talking to each other through their eyes again. I rolled my eyes and crawled over Fred's legs to get off the bed. I walked over to where my bag rested by the door and squatted to go through it.

"What are you doing, Angie?" I looked over my shoulder to see Fred and George looking at me, each with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm going to go take a shower. I spent the entire night on a plane and don't really want to go to a party smelling funky." I gathered the last of my shower supplies before grabbing a towel. I couldn't quite look at my robe yet, the images of Fred and George wearing similar ones all too fresh in my mind. With everything in my arms, I turned around to face the boys. "I don't care what you do while I'm in the shower, but you sure as hell better not be in here once I get out." I turned around and made my way up to the second floor bathroom.

I took a quick shower, letting the water massage my back for a bit. I got out and dried off before wrapping the towel around myself and grabbing all of my shower supplies. I opened the bathroom door and walked out into a wall of male flesh.

I looked up, seeing that I crashed into, I think, Fred. I stepped to the right to get around him, just as he stepped to his left. I stepped to the left, and he followed with a step to his right, a smirk stretching across his face. I raised an eyebrow at him, before bring my hand up and gently pushing him out of the way. I continued into Ginny's room, closing the door behind me and warding it against the twins. I might have believed them about the whole waking up in bed with them thing, but they were still teenage boys.

I got dressed in the skinny jeans I had had on earlier and the strapless blue smocked baby doll top I had grabbed from my closet for the party. Looking in the mirror above Ginny's dresser, I used a simple spell to cause my hair to dry and hang in loose barrel curls. I then focused on the make-up. I was normally better at doing make-up by hand, but I left all my cosmetics back at home. With careful movements, I managed a smoky eye, a light blush over the apples of my cheeks, and a natural glossy lip. Slipping my flats back on, I grabbed my leather jacket from where it had fallen on Ginny's floor and headed for the door leading into the hallway.

As soon as I reached the door, I remembered that I had to send my mom an owl about where I was staying tonight. I summoned Tessa to Ginny's room before writing a letter to Mom. Ginny had let her out earlier once she had finished setting the table for lunch. I had just finished writing the letter when Tessa flew in through Ginny's open window. I tied the letter to her leg, telling her to bring it to Mom at the Ministry in London, before letting her fly back out the window. I put Ginny's quill and ink back where they were on the desk before leaving the room.

Fred and George were sitting in the living room, waiting for Angie to come down. They really didn't want to rush her. Merlin knew what happened the last time they had tried to rush Mum or Ginny when they were getting ready to go somewhere. Women were right scary when they were rushed. George checked the clock in the living room again, seeing that it was 7:55.

Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Both boys looked up as Angie walked into the room. As soon as they saw her, Fred and George had to admit to themselves that she was quite the gorgeous bird. The jeans that she wore, which looked to be the same ones from earlier, hugged every curve of her legs. And her shirt was not low enough to be scandalous, but just enough to see ample amounts of cleavage. Matched with the leather jacket, she looked good enough to eat. She would be the talk of Hogwarts once she got there.

I walked into the living room of the Weasley's house, just as Fred and George started grinning at each other. I was instantly uneasy, sure that this was the exact look they had on their faces before tossing me over one of their shoulders. I walked further into the room, keeping my eyes on them as I took in the surroundings. I took in the worn sofa, love seat, and armchairs in deep reds and light browns. The walls were a very light cream. The floor was a dark hardwood with an oriental looking rug in the center, covering a majority of the floor. A medium sized coffee table sat in the middle of the sitting group, covered in books and papers. There was a large fireplace directly across from me, the front door to my right.

I turned my attention back to Fred and George, seeing that they were looking my way again. I turned around in a slow circle, before stopping to face them again.

"So, is this okay? Or do I need to change into something else?" I saw that they were wearing button up shirts, Fred's was blue, George's grey, with dark jeans and the same bright orange converse shoes that they were wearing earlier. I wasn't sure if I was a little over dressed compared to them.

"No, you look fine," George stated, walking up and grabbing my right arm.

"Simply stunning, Angie," replied Fred, taking my left arm and sandwiching me between them.

"Besides, we are almost late."

"If you went upstairs to change, we probably wouldn't make it to Wood's before the start of term." Fred and George started laughing, and after a moment, I joined them. I knew that I took a while to get ready. If I had decided to change into something else, it probably would have been at least 8:30, probably closer to 9pm, before we finally left.

Fred and George took me by the arms out the front door, a way I much preferred to being tossed over a shoulder like a hunk of meat, and into the front yard. From what I could see in the moonlight, it was a nice yard. Before I could look around more, I felt George drop his hand from my arm. When I turned to look at him, he smirked at me.

"Don't worry. I'll meet you guys at the party. Just have to go pick up my date. Now don't do anything I wouldn't do while I'm gone." George sent me a wink before Apparating away.

I felt Fred start to loosen his grip on my arm. I turned to face him, smiling up at him as I wrapped my left arm around his waist. He looked down, his eyebrow quirked up and a smirk playing on his mouth.

"Well, I am going as your date, aren't I?" I smirked up at him, letting out a little laugh when he settled his arm on my shoulders.

"Are you ready to go, dahling?" Fred smirked, drawing out the final word as I laughed. I then nodded, tightening my grip on his waist. At the same time, he gripped my shoulder a bit harder and turned us both, Apparating away.

I was really getting tired of the feeling of Apparating. When I felt my feet land on ground, I opened my eyes. I had no idea where we were, but it was gorgeous. I was standing on a cliff top, overlooking the ocean. While I couldn't make out many details in the dark, I could tell that it would be a breath-taking view in the daylight. I felt a slight pressure on my shoulder, which turned out to be Fred trying to turn me around. I let him turn me to face the house where the party was at.

I couldn't really see what the house looked like from where we had landed. It looked to be about two floors, but that was pretty much all I could make out.

"Ready?" I looked up at Fred, his brow still quirked. Once I nodded, he started towards the house, his arm still around my shoulders, like my arm around his waist. As we got closer to the door, butterflies started making themselves known in my stomach. I wasn't overly comfortable going to a party that would almost entirely consist of complete strangers. I took a deep breath when we reached the door. I noticed that the house was a white brick, with a double front door. Fred knocked on the door twice with his left hand, his right hand giving my shoulder a slight squeeze. I saw the door begin to crack open and placed a smile on my face.

In the open doorway stood a tall African American girl. She had on a short denim mini skirt, a bright pink V-neck sweater, and a pair of strappy black heels. She had shoulder length black hair and warm light brown eyes, which were currently looking at me in what appeared to be confusion.

"Angelina! It's good to see you!" I felt Fred's arm move from my shoulders, seeing him pull this Angelina into a tight hug. After a moment Fred pulled back, draping his arm back across my shoulders. "I'd like you to meet Angie…Westermann?" He looked down at me, the question of my last name obvious. When I nodded, he turned back to Angelina. "She's from the States. Just moved here this morning. Going to be going to Hogwarts with us this year. Angie, this is Angelina Johnson. She's in Gryffindor with me and George."

"It's nice to meet you, Angelina." I smiled and held out my hand to her. I was surprised, when instead of just shaking my hand, she pulled me into a hug.

"It's nice to meet you too, Angie." She let go of me and stepped back into the house. "Get in here you two. It's bloody cold out here." She turned and started to make her way down the hallway, leaving me and Fred to trail behind. Fred gave my shoulder a squeeze before nudging me inside the house and closing the door behind us. I walked to the back of the house, where I saw Angelina go.

The room turned out to be a kitchen, and it was really beautiful. The walls were a light blue with white molding. The cabinets and appliances were all white, with gray marble countertops. Once I walked further inside the kitchen, I saw Angelina getting a bottle of Woodchuck cider and a Firewhisky from the fridge off to my left. She turned when she heard us.

"Did you want something to drink, Angie? Fred?"

"I'll have what you're having," I replied.

"Throw me a Firewhisky," Fred stated lazily, resting against the island in the middle of the room, pulling me back to stand between his legs and lean my back against his chest, wrapping his arms around my stomach. I rested my arms lightly on his, not sure what else to do with them. I saw Angelina quirk an eyebrow at me, so I rolled my eyes at her, hoping she could tell I had no clue what he was doing. Not that I really minded. It had been kind of chilly outside and the warmth from his body was warming me up quite nicely.

Angelina smirked and shook her head, turning back to the fridge. When she turned around, she had my cider and the Firewhisky in one hand, balancing the other two drinks in her other. She set both of those bottles on the island next to Fred.

"Well, I need to get back downstairs. George is waiting for me." With that, she turned around and headed down a second hallway, this one to the right of the fridge. I reached over to grab my cider, twisting the lid off and taking a sip. I grimaced. It wasn't fantastic, but it was better than nothing. I looked down as I felt Fred unwrap one of his arms from my stomach. I heard the sound of a cap being popped. As I took another sip of cider, I felt Fred jerk behind me.

"What the fuck?" I turned my head, seeing Fred gag on his Firewhisky. It struck me as odd that he would specifically ask for it, only to just choke it back up.

"What's wrong, Freddie? Too strong for you?" I smirked up at him, taking another sip of cider. He glared down at me, waited until I had lowered my bottle, before he swapped his bottle for mine.

"Try it." Fred pressed the bottle towards me, a smirk on his face. I figured it couldn't hurt. I mean, Fred didn't look any different. Plus, I'd had Firewhisky before. It wasn't bad, but it did burn on the way down. Not a very pleasant sensation. I raised the bottle to my lips and took a small sip. When the liquid hit my tongue, I choked in surprise, causing Fred to let out a burst of laughter. It wasn't Firewhiskey. It was orange juice. I swallowed the orange juice before joining Fred in his laughter. I handed him back his bottle before taking back my cider, taking a deep drink to get the taste of OJ out of my mouth.

"Well, I'm sure everyone is waiting for us to get downstairs. Let me just switch this out and we can head down." Fred vanished the bottle in his hand before nudging me forward to get to the fridge. He grabbed a new Firewhiskey with his left hand, pushing the fridge door closed, and grabbing my left hand in his right. I let him pull me along down the hallway where Angelina had disappeared earlier.

"So, who wants to play strip poker?" I looked over, seeing that this suggestion had come from Lee Jordan. Fred and I had been down in Oliver Wood's basement with a group of people for the past three hours, just talking, drinking, and having a good time. I looked around the room, seeing everyone in various states of intoxication.

To my right were Lee and Katie Bell, both of whom were in Gryffindor. Lee was a seventh year, while Katie was a sixth year. Lee was African American, a little shorter than the twins, probably just under 6 feet, with shoulder length black dreads and dark brown eyes. He had on a white t-shirt, over which was an unbuttoned red dress shirt, and jeans with red Chucks. Katie was a little shorter than me, with shoulder length blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She had on a pale pink t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, shoes thrown off in a corner. Lee had thrown himself into a red lounge chair, head over one arm, legs over the other, and Katie had settled herself on the floor in front of him.

To the right of them were George and Angelina. George was leaning back against one of the arms of a black couch with Angelina curled up against his chest, looking like she was about to fall asleep. Either that or she was just really comfy.

On the other end of the couch were Brittany Hayes and her Muggle boyfriend John Meyers. Brittany was a seventh year Gryffindor like Angelina, Lee, Fred and George. She was petite, with shoulder length brown hair and chocolate eyes. She was wearing an 'I heart Muggles' t-shirt and jeans with a pair of black Rocket Dogs. John, who was 18, was around the same height as the twins, with short brown hair and bright green eyes. He had on a green rugby shirt and jeans with black Vans. John was sitting on the other end of the couch, while Brittany had perched herself on the armrest, her left arm draped across John's back for balance.

On the ground next to Brittany and John were Chelsea Mangan and her boyfriend Sean Miller. Chelsea was also a seventh year Gryffindor, while Sean was a seventh year at Durmstrang, which turned out to be a different wizarding school somewhere in Europe. Chelsea had long wavy brown hair, hazel eyes, and was the exact same height as me. She was wearing a purple v-neck sweater with jeans and black Vans. Sean was about the same height as Lee, around 5'11", with pale blonde hair and green eyes. He had on a black t-shirt and jeans with black Vans, matching Chelsea's, which I thought was a little bit strange. Sean was leaning against the wall with Chelsea's head resting in his lap.

To the left of me were Oliver Wood and Alicia Spinnet. Alicia was the same year and house as Fred, George, and pretty much everyone else here, while Oliver had graduated from Hogwarts two years ago. Alicia was shorter, around 5'5", with black curly hair and dark brown eyes. She had on a black mini dress with grey leggings and bare feet. Oliver was an inch or two shorter than Fred and George. He had short light brown hair and bright blue eyes. Oliver was wearing a white t-shirt, over which was a white and blue striped button up, and dark wash jeans with bare feet. Oliver was sitting in the other lounge chair, this one black, and had Alicia draped over his lap.

Everyone here seemed really nice, though I saw Katie shoot me an icy glare when I had first met Lee. I guess she thought there was more to the innocent flirting between me and Lee than there actually was. I wasn't going to apologize for just being me. I unconsciously flirt with pretty much every guy I meet, Lee being no exception. It wasn't that I was interested in him that way; it's just part of my personality.

I was sitting on the other couch, a red one, with my legs pulled up under myself. My jacket and flats were on the ground next to my end of the couch. Fred had stretched out over the rest of the couch, with his head resting in my lap. I had been running my fingers through his hair ever since I found out how soft it was.

However, as soon as Lee made the 'strip poker' suggestion, Fred rolled onto his side to get a better look at Lee.

"Strip poker? I'm not sure if I'm drunk enough to want to see your naked arse, mate." Everyone laughed, including Lee. Fred laid his head back down on my lap and my fingers went back to combing his hair.

"Do you have any other idea then? I'm tired of just sitting here and talking to you lot." Lee sat back and downed the rest of his bottle of Firewhisky before tossing it into the ever growing pile of bottles in the center of the group.

"Well, there is this drinking game that I played with my friends back in the States. It's like Truth or Dare, with a touch of Spin the Bottle, except with Veritaserum and lots of Firewhiskey," I offered.

"I get the Veritaserum, but the Firewhiskey makes no bloody sense," Sean called out.

"Well, one person spins the bottle in the middle of the group. The person the bottle lands on has to choose truth or dare. If they choose truth, they drink a shot of Firewhiskey with a drop of Veritaserum in it. If they choose dare, they drink a shot of Firewhiskey beforehand. If they fail to complete the dare, for any reason at all, they have to take five extra shots of Firewhiskey," I explained.

"Sounds brilliant! I'm just not sure if Fred and George left us enough Firewhiskey," Lee called out. At the exact same time, Fred and George both flipped him the finger, causing everyone, including Lee, to laugh again.

"No, we've got plenty. I found out long ago not to keep all the booze out where the twins could find it," Oliver said with a smirk. Oliver nudged Alicia off of him and got up, walking over to a regulation size poker table in the corner of the room, behind the area where everyone was sitting. He tapped the table with his wand, causing the top to come off. A platform inside the table started to rise, on top of which were dozens of bottles of Firewhiskey and a pile of shot glasses.

Fred had raised his head off my lap and was now looking over the back of the couch at Oliver and the poker table in shock. "How could you hold out on us like this, mate?"

"Freddie, does it really matter?" I asked jokingly, causing everyone to laugh at the nickname. Fred turned to me, his eyes sparkling with what I could tell was mischief. He leaned in close to me, his mouth right by my ear.

"You are going to pay for that. Just wait until that bottle lands on you," Fred whispered, his breath ghosting across my ear.

"We'll see about that." I pushed Fred back and smirked at him.

"Oi! Fred, stop flirting and get your bloody arse over here!" George called out. Both Fred and I looked over to see that Lee and George had joined Oliver at the table and were currently gathering bottles of Firewhiskey into their hands, wide smirks on each of their faces. I felt a light blush cover my cheeks. I felt Fred get off of the couch and move to join his friends. I turned back to the others in the group, seeing that Sean and John had gotten up to join the other boys at the poker table. I scanned down the couch, catching the eye of Angelina. She motioned for me to come over and join her on the other couch. Unfolding myself from my sitting position, I walked over to Angelina and sat down beside her.

"Are you having fun, Angie?" Angelina asked.

"Yeah. I was kinda nervous coming here, since I wouldn't know anyone except the twins, but I'm glad I did. It's going to be nice knowing at least a few people at Hogwarts."

"I was really nervous my first day at Hogwarts. It really helped when I ran into Fred and George on the train. They had me laughing in no time. They have been my best male mates ever since. Course, they do make me angry enough to punch them sometimes. Some of the pranks they pull can be quite annoying." Angelina rolled her eyes.

"How bad could they possibly be?" I asked, honestly curious now.

"How bad?" Katie walked over to us, obviously overhearing the conversation. "One time, they made all the shampoo in the girls' dormitory change our hair color throughout the day."

"Another time," Alicia piped in. "They emptied an entire box of stink pellets in the dungeons. It was funny at first because that is where the Slytherin dormitories are, but Potions class is also held down there. The stench did not leave for at least a week." I had already heard all about the hatred between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I thought they were over exaggerating. But you really had to hate someone to dump that number of stink pellets outside their dorm.

"How about the time in second year when Fred, George, and Lee convinced Peeves to burst into every class they had and completely destroy the rooms?" Brittany asked. "It was nice to have a day off of classes, but I was pissed that it came at the expense of my Weird Sisters bag."

"Then there was the time third year when Fred and George kept bouncing snowballs off the back of Professor Quirrell's turban," Chelsea added. "It was funny, until he assigned the entire class two scrolls of parchment on chimeras due the next day."

"And don't forget the worst one yet. Remember Halloween our first year? When Fred and George conjured a flock of bats to follow Professor Snape around? He made everyone in Gryffindor write ten scroll lengths on the properties and uses for wolfsbane. Due by the end of class."

"Why Fred, I think we have some admirers." I looked up, seeing Fred and George standing behind Alicia and Katie, who had spun around at the sudden noise.

"To think that they care enough to talk about us, even when we aren't here," Fred added.

"And to compliment our work so much."

"It brings a tear to my eye."

"Cut it out boys. Are you almost done getting everything?" Angelina asked, while everyone else laughed and Fred and George passed out bottles of Firewhiskey. I set mine on the ground in front of my feet.

"Yeah, Wood and Lee just went upstairs to find some Veritaserum," Fred said, walking over and taking John's old place on the couch next to me. George followed suit, squeezing himself between me and Angelina. Since neither boy was all that small due to their muscles, I wound up turned sideways, spooning Fred's side, with my ass pressing against George's hip. Fred turned his head to look at my face.

"Comfy?" Fred had that smirk on his face, the one that was both adorably cute, yet made me want to smack him.

"Never better," I replied sarcastically, using Fred's chest as leverage to wiggle my way out from between the twins. Everyone laughed as I finally freed myself and straightened my clothes. I had turned around to make my way over to where Katie and Alicia were standing by the fireplace when I felt two arms snake around my waist, one hand holding a bottle of Firewhiskey. Letting out a squeal of shock, I landed on a lap, to a renewal of laughter. Looking to my left, I saw George and Angelina, which meant I was sitting on Fred. I tried to wiggle away like before, but he only laughed against my neck and tightened his grip. I saw that everyone else was hiding smiles behind their hands as they went to sit down. Brittany, John, Chelsea, and Sean went to claim the abandoned couch, while Alicia and Katie went over to one of the chairs and sat down together, talking about something I couldn't make out.

"Not getting away that easily," Fred laughed into my shoulder.

"Fred! What the hell?" I tried to turn to look at him, but his grip around me was too tight.

"Well, I needed an 'Angie'. George has Angelina, and we need to have the same of everything. Since you are the only other person here with the name 'Angie', you'll just have to do." I felt him smirk against my shoulder blade and had the sudden urge to throw my shoulder back into his face. I was about to do just that when I heard foot falls on the stairs.

"Well, we finally found some Veritaserum, so why don't we get this game…Oi! Fred! Do you need a room or something?" I felt myself blush a light pink as Lee finished. I heard muffled laughter come from the others in the room, which only made the blush deepen.

"Mate, if something like that was going on, I'm pretty sure Angie wouldn't be wearing jeans still. Or I would have told her to wear a skirt." As soon as Fred finished, I jerked my shoulder back, catching his cheek.

"You know," Fred began. "There are other ways to shut my mouth, Angie. Ones that are a lot more fun."

I turned my head, about to tell him how I was going to be placing a certain foot up a certain ass when I was interrupted. At least it wasn't by Fred's mom this time.

"We should probably get this game started. Before these two get any more worked up." Oliver smirked at Fred and me before walking over to where Alicia was now sitting alone, Katie having come over to sit with Lee on the other chair. I managed to escape Fred's grasp, finally, and sat down on the arm of the couch next to him. Still, he draped his arm around my back after he passed me my Firewhiskey. Oliver flipped his hand, causing twelve shot glasses to leave the poker table and levitate to everyone around the circle. After everyone had poured their first shot, he turned to me. "So, Angie, care to start us off?"

"Sure." I slipped my wand out of my pocket and floated one of the bottles on the poker table over to the center of the group. I flicked my wand, causing the bottle to spin. When it had stopped, I looked up to see it pointing at Brittany. "So, Brittany. Truth or dare?"

"Please, call me Brit. Everyone does." Brit smiled. "And let's go with truth." Lee tossed the bottle of Veritaserum over to Brit.

"Chicken," John mock whispered into Brit's ear. She smacked at his leg before tipping a drop of the clear liquid into her shot glass. She knocked the shot back, grimacing, before turning to look back at me.

"Okay. I'm gonna start it off tame. What's your favorite color and why?"

"That's easy. Emerald. Mainly because it is the exact shade of John's eyes." Brit smiled up at John before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. She flicked her own wand at the bottle, causing it to spin again. This time it landed on Angelina, who looked relieved. "Angelina, truth or dare?"

I heard George whispering "Pick dare, pick dare, pick dare, pick dare…" into Angelina's ear, until she turned to look at his face, a wide smile on her lips.

"I choose….truth." Angelina smirked at George, who groaned in response. Clearly he wanted her to do something ridiculous. She prepared her own shot with the Veritaserum that Brit tossed her before drinking it.

"Okay. Well, I actually really suck at coming up with questions, so I'm just going to ask you the same one Angie asked me. I know, lame, but get over it." Everyone laughed. "So, what is your favorite color and why?"

"Blue because it is my favorite eye color." Angelina blushed as George wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her up against his chest. She lazily flicked her wand, spinning the bottle. It landed on Lee, whose face broke out into a huge smile.

"Don't even ask. I pick dare. And make it good, none of those pansy ones," Lee ordered, sitting up straighter in his chair, throwing back his shot.

Angelina smirked at him, mischief showing in her eyes. "Well, since you asked for it. I'm sorry Chels, but I have to." Chelsea looked over at Angelina, a questioning look on her face. "Lee, I dare you to give Sean a lap dance. And it had better be good." Everyone started laughing as Lee and Sean exchanged looks of horror before Sean grabbed Chelsea around the waist, eliciting a squeak of shock from her, and pulling her onto his lap.

"Come anywhere near my lap and it won't be pretty," Sean vowed.

"Guess that means another five shots for you, Lee. Bottoms up, mate." Oliver toasted Lee with his shot glass, a wide smirk on his face. Lee reached for his glass and bottle again, drinking five shots before spinning the bottle on the floor. It landed on Oliver, coincidently, who looked up at Lee, a smile on his face.

"You already know my choice, mate. Bring on the dare. The worst you've got," Oliver grinned, tossing back his shot.

Lee looked over at his friend, a smile slowly claiming his lips. "Snog every girl in the room." Oliver started coughing, obviously not expecting that. And by the heat coming out of Alicia's eyes, it was clear that she did not approve. She whispered directly into Oliver's ear, probably saying something along the lines of 'If you do that, I will cut off your favorite appendage with a cheese grater', which has always been my favorite threat to a man. Oliver's face paled before he poured and drank an additional five shots, backing down from the dare.

The bottle landed on George this time, who visibly perked up. "Give me the worst dare you can come up with, Wood," George smirked, before tossing back his shot. Oliver seemed to be looking around the room, until his gaze halted on Angelina. Or, more specifically, Angelina's shoes. A wide smirk stretched across Oliver's face as he looked back to George. "Take of Angelina's shoes." Everyone in the room groaned. That was probably one of the worst dares ever. George rolled his eyes at Oliver before reaching for Angelina's foot.

"Wait." George paused, raising an eyebrow. Oliver's smirk grew as he continued. "You have to remove them with your teeth." George seemed to hesitate for a minute, flicking his eyes from Angelina's feet to Oliver.

"That's bloody cheap mate," George growled, before getting down on the ground and moving his head closer to the girl's feet.

I leaned down to Fred, whispering in his ear. "What's the big deal about that? Not exactly a strip tease to 'Barbie Girl'." Fred snorted quietly before looking up at me, his eyes twinkling with what I thought was mirth.

"Georgie here is not too fond of feet."

George glared up at Fred. "You would be too if you had seen Aunt Muriel without her shoes on." He visibly shuddered. "That is one image that will forever be plastered in my mind."

I looked over at Angelina, who was looking at George in pity. I could tell that a Weasley twin would never back down from a dare. Ever. Yet I saw that this was something that George was really uncomfortable with. I pulled out my wand and flicked it towards Angelina's feet. Instantly, her high heels turned into a pair of big fluffy bunny slippers, with large floppy ears. Everyone burst out laughing, especially George, as he happily grabbed onto the ears of the slippers to pull them off. Oliver looked upset, but as soon as Alicia gave him a soft kiss, he suddenly brightened, seeming to completely forget about what had just happened.

George got up and sat back on the couch, throwing a silent 'thank you' over Fred's head at me. The bottle started spinning, landing on Alicia. Alicia looked up at George, paling as Oliver tightened his grip around her waist.

"So," George smiled. "Truth or dare, Alicia?"

"Umm." She looked at Oliver, worrying her lower lip. "I guess I'll choose….truth?" Alicia squeaked out the last word, obviously scared about what kind of revenge George would deal her because of Oliver's dare. George glanced over at Fred, seeming to communicate again, before Fred nodded slightly and the grin on George's face grew even wider.

"Take your shot first, Alicia." Angelina passed the Veritaserum over to her. Alicia poured a drop into her glass. Just as she brought the shot to her lips and was tossing it back, George announced his truth.

"How large is little Oliver, Alicia?" Alicia sprayed the Firewhiskey and Veritaserum that had been in her mouth all over the carpet in front of her. The room fell to hysterics, while Oliver conjured a towel and helped Alicia to clean up the booze from her face.

"Well, I guess that answers a different question," Fred stated, grinning at George. "She's a spitter." Everyone started laughing again, Alicia flushing a bright pink, tucking her face into Oliver's shoulder. "Now, Alicia. You haven't answered Georgie's question. And we are all dying to know." I could feel Fred shaking with pent-up laughter. Alicia mumbled something into Oliver's shoulder. "Sorry. Didn't hear that one."

Alicia raised her head, looking straight at George and Fred, face still as bright as it was before. "I said 'Eight inches' you cocky little bastards." She then ducked her head back into Oliver's shoulder, obviously embarrassed. I looked over at Angelina, who was glaring at George. Fred pulled the arm draped around my waist tighter, almost causing me to fall into his lap. Instead, I wrapped my arm around his shoulders for balance. I shot him a glare, but he only responded with a look of complete, and bullshit, innocence. I rolled my eyes, turning back to Alicia, who seemed to have finally gotten over her embarrassment.

The bottle started spinning again, but I was distracted from whom it landed on by Fred's finger drawing designs on my hip. I looked down at him, confusion probably clear on my face, only to notice that he was talking to George about something called an 'Extendable Ear'. I had never heard about something like that before so I was naturally curious. I was about to ask a question about them when I noticed John, Brit's boyfriend, suddenly stand up and whip his shirt off. I had to turn away as my eyes were suddenly molested by very pale white skin. I have to admit that he did have a really nice six-pack, but he was way too pale. _What is it with these British guys and being so damn pale?!_

The bottle then landed on Katie, who chose truth, like all the girls before her. Oliver tossed her the Veritaserum while John thought up a good question.

"Okay. I've got one. Who here have you had a crush on?"

Katie smiled. "Oliver, Fred, George, and Lee. But I only have a crush on one of them now." She smiled as Lee reached his hand down and squeezed her shoulder. With a flick of her wand, the bottle went spinning, landing on Chelsea.

"I'm picking truth," Chelsea blurted out. She blushed as Sean laughed beside her.

"Okay," Katie laughed, tossing the Veritaserum over to her. After Chelsea had taken the shot, grimacing the entire time, Katie looked over at her. "I've always been curious, Chels. I mean, you and Sean have dated since your fourth year. How far have you guys actually gone?"

At this, Chelsea just smirked. "We've only made out. That's it," she said, turning to face Sean. "He has always been a perfect gentleman."

I was stunned and, looking around the room, everyone else appeared to be also. After a moment, Fred and George began laughing. Everyone turned to look at them, wondering what was so funny. However, it appeared that words wouldn't be coming anything soon, with George's head buried in Angelina's hair and Fred's pushed against my thigh. I looked over at Angelina and we both started laughing, just at the hilarity of the boys between us. Pretty soon everyone joined in, and it was quite a while before we all were calm enough to talk.

"So boys, what was that all about?" I asked, nudging Fred with my hip.

"We just couldn't believe…" Fred began.

"That a living, breathing,…" continued George.

"And in most ways normal…"

"Couple could just make-out…"

"For three years!" they exclaimed together.

Chelsea and Sean chuckled from across the room. "Well," Chelsea began. "Sean knows that I want to wait until marriage and he respects that."

I looked around the room, seeing that the guys were suddenly seeming to look really awkward. Except for Sean. My best guess was that they were worried that their girl friends would suddenly decide to not have sex with them, to wait for marriage. This was highly doubtable, since I had talked to Alicia and Angelina earlier and they both were very happy with that part of their relationships. I wasn't sure about Brit, but I think she was in the same boat as Chelsea. And I have no clue about Katie. I thought that she and Lee had just started going out, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

Chelsea sent the bottle spinning, landing on Sean. She turned to him, eyebrow raised.

"Dare," he said, swallowing the shot.

"Hmm. I can't think of anything. So, I guess I'll just have to dare you to kiss me," Chelsea said smiling. Once again, everyone groaned at the pathetic dare. Sean placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, much to everyone's amusement, before flicking the bottle into motion. It landed on Fred, the only person in the group who hadn't gone yet.

"Dare. The best you've got," Fred called out. Instead of just drinking a shot though, he threw back almost half of the bottle that he had in his hand.

"Okay. Lick George's ear," Sean said a smirk on his face.

"Wait, what?! Why my ear? I'm his twin! Why not Angie's ear?!" George demanded, obviously not liking the prospect of his brother licking his ear.

"What?" I shrieked, not expecting to be brought into this argument. "Why did my name come up? This is between you three, not me, my ear, and Fred."

Sean started laughing. "I guess that means its five more shots for you, Fred. Cheers!" he said, toasting Fred before taking a drink himself.

I heard Fred muttering something along the lines of 'Bloody son of a banshee' before finishing off the Firewhiskey bottle he had in his hand. He flicked his wand, spinning the bottle on the floor, grinning like a madman when he realized who the bottle was pointing towards. I, on the other hand, felt myself pale, because that stupid little fucking bottle was pointing directly at me.

"Fuck," I whispered.

"So, Angie. What'll it be?" Fred asked, his smile growing even wider.

"I, um, have to go to the bathroom," I said quickly, moving to get up, forgetting that he still had his arm around my waist. As soon as I started moving, Fred pulled me down onto his lap, wrapping both of his long arms around me, effectively trapping me against his chest.

"You're not getting out of this that easy," Fred whispered into my ear while everyone else was laughing at my attempt to escape. "Now pick which one it will be."

"I guess…truth." I looked up, just in time to see Sean toss the tiny bottle of Veritaserum over towards Fred and I. Fred caught it and, after waiting until I had poured out my shot, added a drop to the glass. I quickly drank it down before swiveling my head to face Fred.

"So Angie, out of me and George, which do you want to shag more?" No one said a word as I felt my face go pure white and I dropped my gaze to my lap. It wasn't that I was offended by the question, it was more along the lines of I have only known these guys for a little under 24 hours and I was supposed to want to have sex with one of them already? For Pete's sake, George had a girl friend! I really didn't know that much about either, but I supposed I knew the most about Fred, having spent the most time with him. I looked up, seeing Brit looking at me, concern shining through her eyes. I gave her a small smile before turning back to Fred. He still had that huge annoying, yet incredible cute, smile on his face.

"I would have to choose you, since I know you the most and George has a girlfriend. But that doesn't mean that I want to bang you right now," I said, a smirk on my face.

"Ouch. Tough one there mate," Lee said, winking at Fred.

"Bugger off, Lee," Fred retorted, leaning back against the couch, and pulling me with him. I set the bottle spinning, somehow not surprised when it landed on Lee.

"So Lee, I guess you chose dare?" I said, grinning. I had a really good idea for this one and I couldn't wait to see if it turned out.

"You bet your arse!" Lee gulped down the rest of his bottle of Firewhiskey, dropping it to the floor beside his chair before turning back to me. "Let's see if you can come up with a better one than Chels over there."

"Oh, I already have one ready. I dare you to streak around the room," I stated calmly before all the guys and most of the girls started laughing. The only one that looked uncomfortable was Chelsea.

"I am definitely not drunk enough to want to see that," Chelsea grimaced. Sean laughed, levitating another couple of bottles over from the poker table.

"Well, bottoms up then!" he laughed, pressing one of the bottles into her hand, as Lee started stripping.

The game lasted until 4 in the morning, with people picking truth less and less and the dares getting more and more ridiculous. But that was probably because by that time all of us were smashed off our asses. Angelina somehow got Fred, George, and Lee to do the dance to 'Single Ladies', after I played it for them on my phone. Oliver wanted me to make out with Angelina, for some reason thinking it would be hot; we didn't do it. Alicia wound up switching clothes with Sean. Chelsea, or Chels as she wanted me to call her, was dared to eat an entire jar of pickles, juice and all, by Lee. And I somehow wound up being in a 'Weasley Twin Sandwich' until my next turn.

Once it got to 4, everyone was pretty much dead, except for Fred and George. They had wanted to keep the game going, but the rest of us were too tired to even keep our eyes open for more than a couple minutes. Angelina had to head home, along with Katie, Brit, John, Chels, and Sean. They followed each other out by Floo, leaving only Oliver, Alicia, Lee, Fred, George, and myself in the basement. Alicia and Oliver had moved to the abandoned couch, Oliver cuddling a yawning Alicia to his chest. Lee was still in the same chair, except now he was sprawled out over it, his head and one arm dangling off one armrest and a leg off the other. Fred had gotten me to move long enough for him to lay against the back of the couch before pulling me down to face his chest. I noticed George stretched out in the other chair before resting my head on Fred's chest.

Alicia was yawning again. I looked up from where I was leaning against Fred to see Oliver standing with Alicia in his arms.

"Well, I think we're going to head off to bed. You guys can stay here if you want. It doesn't really matter to me," Oliver threw over his shoulder as he walked over to and up the stairs. "Night mates. Night Angie."

"Do you want to head home, sleepyhead?" I heard Fred whisper in my ear. I turned my head and found myself not even two inches from his face, staring into his brilliant blue eyes. I blinked a couple times, trying to remember what he had just asked me.

"How?" I felt Fred's chest move with repressed laughter.

"Apparation, silly."

"No. No move tubes," I groaned, turning my face into his chest.

"Okay. No Apparation. What about Floo powder?" I felt him run his hand through my hair, sending slight shivers down my back.

"Too dizzy."

"Do you just want to stay here?" I didn't even respond this time, just buried my face more into his chest. He actually smelled really good too, but that could have been the overindulgence of Firewhiskey I had partaken in. I heard someone start to snore, quite loudly too, before Fred's chest began shaking with laughter again.

"It never did take too long for Lee to nod off."

"Nope. I take it Angie wants to stay here tonight?" I heard George ask.

"Yeah. I think she had a bit too much to drink and doesn't want to hurl all over everything trying to get back home."

George chuckled quietly. "Yeah. She was knocking back quite a few of those bottles. I'm pretty sure I saw here down an entire bottle after Wood dared her to make out with Angelina."

Fred's chest started moving again. I scowled. I was finally getting comfortable and he kept moving. I lifted my head, arching an eyebrow at him. "Excuse me? Girl trying to sleep here. Not helpful when my pillow keeps moving."

George starting laughing as Fred looked at me in what appeared to be shock. "Me? A pillow?"

"Yes. You. A pillow. And could you scoot over anymore? I feel like my ass is about to fall off the couch."

Fred glared down at me for a moment before suddenly pulling me into his arms and standing up. I let out a squeak of shock, not expecting this, wrapping my arms around his neck. Suddenly a gigantic bed appeared in the middle of the floor with bright orange sheets and three fluffy pillows. I saw George plop down on one side before Fred set me on my feet beside it and fell down beside his brother. Both twins patted the empty area of bed between them.

"C'mon Ang. It's nice and comfy down here," Fred yawned.

I yawned also, smiling slightly. "In a minute." I took my wand out of my pocket and flicked it, causing my jeans and smocked shirt to become a hot pink spaghetti strap tank and a pair of baggy black sweat pants. I fell down between Fred and George, resting my head on the middle pillow facing George.

"Night boys," I whispered, flicking my wand to conjure a sheet to cover all three of us before sticking my wand under my pillow.

"Night Angie," came from both sides of me before I closed my eyes and fell straight to sleep.

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**Author's Note #2: So I hope that you liked it. Please review. I really want to know what you think about it so far. And I promise that the pace is going to be picking up. There will probably only be two more chapters until term begins. The next chapter should be up next weekend, at the very latest the one after that. My spring break is coming up, so I'll be able to spend more time on this story than I have been.**

**Before I forget again, an especially big thank you to my two wonderful betas. Without them, this story would probably still be just an idea floating around in my head.  
**

**So once again, thanks for reading and please review!  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Time To Go

**Finally! Chapter Seven is finished. I'm sorry that it took forever to finish, but I was trying to fit an entire week into a chapter without making it seem rushed. So, please enjoy Chapter Seven and leave a review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor ever will, own any of JKR's characters and plotlines. Even though I'm pretty sure the twins would be happier with me. ;)  
**

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Picture a drum line. No, picture twenty drum lines, all of them playing a different song. That was exactly what was going on in my head when I woke up the next morning. I opened my eyes, only to groan as bright lights attacked my eyeballs. I shut my eyes and turned into my pillow. After a moment, I recognized the sound of breathing coming from both sides of me.

Curious, I slowly opened my eyes, thankful when said eyes didn't scream at me this time. I looked to both sides and saw identical red hair facing me. Figuring they were the twins, hopefully, I tried to remember why I was in bed with both of them. Thinking back to last night, I found my memory really hazy and not making any sense. Figuring I probably drank way too much, I made a mental inventory of my body. I was still fully clothed, good sign, and nothing, besides my head, hurt awfully bad, really good sign.

With a sigh of relief, I carefully started to sit up, wincing as my head started throbbing painfully. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples for a few moments until the pain had subsided. When I opened my eyes again, I gently pulled myself out from under the garish orange covers, trying not to wake the sleeping boys beside me. Crawling over the pillow I had previously been sleeping on, I struggled to my feet as the room started spinning around me.

I waited a moment until the spinning wasn't so bad before looking around the room, trying to find the stairs. My eyes passed over Lee Jordan, who was still sleeping in the chair next to the fireplace. I stifled a giggle at seeing him, since he had somehow moved to sleep with his head almost touching the ground in front of the chair, one leg over the back and the other over an armrest.

I turned my head, locating the stairs. Slowly, I made my way over to and up the staircase. It wasn't until I had pushed open the door open at the top of the stairs that I heard muted voices.

I froze, straining to hear the voices to no avail. They were speaking just quietly enough to not be able to understand or differentiate them. My hand went to my back pocket, searching for my wand, only, to my horror, not find it there. Realizing that I had probably left it downstairs, I almost groaned. It was hard enough getting up those stairs without falling over or puking, possibly both. I did not want to test going back down them anytime soon.

Seeing no other option, I started moving quietly down the hallway leading towards the kitchen; I remembered at least that much from last night. Wishing the entire time that I had joined Amanda in taking Muggle self-defense classes, I cautiously poked my head around the corner, only to let out a relieved sigh and enter the room fully.

Sitting at a large glass top table were Oliver and Alicia, both of whom were wearing a pair of red boxers, Alicia wearing a black wife beater also. I saw that Oliver had a very nice looking six pack and was in no way, shape, or form pale as death, thank Merlin. They were sitting next to each other, smiling. I noticed a clock hanging above their heads on the wall. It said that it was only a little after noon. I groaned, realizing that I had only had about seven or eight hours of sleep. Both turned when they heard me enter the room.

"Morning Angie. You look like shite." I stuck my tongue out at Oliver, thanking him for the sentiment.

"Thanks Wood. Not that you look much better. Now where is the Hangover Relief Potion?" I walked over to the kitchen island, resting my elbows on the marble surface.

Wood let out a chuckle before standing up. "I'll get you a vial. But that means you get to make everyone breakfast."

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Just get me the fucking potion." Alicia and Wood both laughed as my head fell to the counter between my arms. I heard Wood's footsteps go past me, further into the kitchen before I heard a cabinet open. In a second, I heard the clink of the vial on the counter next to my head. I lifted my head, freeing my arm to grab the vial. I quickly uncorked it before tossing back the vial like a shot. Dropping the vial back onto the counter, I laid my head back on my arms to wait the minute until the potion kicked in.

Once I felt more like myself, I pushed myself up off the island. "So, breakfast? That should be easy. Anything you don't want?" I walked over to the fridge to see what was there.

"Um, I'm allergic to eggs, but only when they aren't mixed into something," Alicia volunteered. I heard a chair move and soft footfalls on the tile floor. I looked over to see her rummaging through the pantry. "What were you thinking of fixing?"

"Bacon, pancakes, French toast, sausage, regular toast, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, cinnamon rolls, a fresh fruit salad, and maybe some fresh squeezed orange juice. Or is that not enough?" I looked up to see Wood shaking his head and Alicia with her mouth hanging open. "What?"

"You are just like the twins. They never stop eating," Wood replied from the table, kicking his feet up on a chair.

"I never would have imagined another person eating as much as them. It seems impossible." Alicia shook her head before pulling out of the pantry, her arms full of different items, including bread, pancake mix, an onion, and a sack of potatoes. Smiling, I pulled out a carton of milk, some eggs, bacon, sausage, butter, and a few rolls of cinnamon rolls and biscuits from the fridge. We both dumped our loads on the island, sorting everything out into what made what item.

"Do you know how to make hash browns the Muggle way?" I looked over at Alicia as she had begun to peel the potatoes. At her nod, I continued. "Do you mind starting those while I mix up the pancakes and French toast batter?"

"No problem. Just so you know, the mixing bowls are in the corner cabinet, the measuring cups are in the drawer by the sink, and frying and baking pans are in the drawer underneath the stove," Alicia called over her shoulder as she went back to the potatoes.

"You know, this would go so much faster if you used magic," Wood called over from the kitchen table.

"You know how else this could go faster? If you got off your ass and helped," I called back, smirking into the pancake batter that I was currently mixing.

I heard him heave a huge sigh. "What do you want me to do?" Defeat was clear in his voice.

"You can start with cleaning and cutting up the fruits in that bowl on the island. After that, you can move onto making some orange juice."

"Fine." I heard him get up and move into the kitchen, muttering something along the lines of women's work. I then heard the smack of Alicia hitting him, making my smile grow even more.

The three of us worked in companionable silence, Alicia finishing up the hash browns pretty quickly, placing them on the kitchen table under a warming spell before moving on to cooking the bacon and sausage. I had just finished making large batches of both pancakes and French toast, which followed the hash browns onto the table, and was beginning on the biscuits and gravy when Oliver had finished up his jobs.

"Is that all you needed?" Wood questioned, leaning against the counter space next to me.

"Actually, could you fix up some toast? Alicia was going to start on it after she finished with the cinnamon rolls, bacon, and sausage, but it might be faster if you work on it. Please?" I flashed him my best puppy-dog-pout, which always made it impossible for pretty much every man to say 'no' to anything I asked.

And it worked on him too. "Fine, I'll make your damned toast." Muttering again, he grabbed an entire loaf of bread and made his way over to the toaster.

Alicia had just finished putting the plates of bacon and sausage on the table when she came up next to me. "You have got to teach me whatever you just used on Oliver. I have never seen him give in to doing work that easily," she muttered into my ear.

"No problem." I flashed Alicia a wink as I finished putting the biscuits on a baking sheet and moved to put them in the oven. Alicia went back to where she was before, this time working on getting the cinnamon rolls done.

It wasn't too much longer until everything was ready. Just as Alicia and I were putting the final plates on the table, I heard at least two sets of footfalls coming down the hall. Oliver and Alicia claimed their original spots at the table, while I chose the one next to Alicia. Just as I sat down, Fred, George and Lee turned into the kitchen, all three looking a little worse for wear. None of them said anything as they collapsed at the table, Lee taking the chair next to me while Fred and George took the two between Lee and Oliver. Without saying anything, Oliver summoned three bottles of Hangover Relief Potion and let them fall in front of the boys. All three drank it down without a second thought. After a minute or two, all three looked much better, not looking like they had just been dragged behind a stock car for a few laps.

"Why aren't we eating yet?" I looked over at Fred, my mouth falling open. I glanced around the table, seeing that George and Lee were nodding in agreement while Wood and Alicia just shook their heads.

"Well go on ahead and dig in." I said this as I was reaching for the plate of French toast, only to snatch my hand back before it was taken off. If I had thought that Fred and George ate a lot of food at the Burrow yesterday, it was nothing compared to how much the two of them, plus Wood and Lee ate. Alicia and I just sat back and waited until they had finished filling their plates, and probably only for the first time, before getting food for ourselves.

Everyone grabbed a little bit of everything. Since we were all eating, speaking was too a minimum, only used when a certain plate needed to be passed. Alicia and I each only ate about one plate of food, a little less in her case, while Wood ate second helpings of everything and Lee and the twins had triple to quadruple helpings. After everyone had finished, and almost no food was left over, Oliver sent all of the dishes to the sink to clean themselves.

"So, who do I have to thank for that delicious breakfast?" George questioned as he leaned back in his chair, hands folded behind his head. Fred copied his twin's actions.

"That would be Angie and I, though Angie did most of the work," Alicia chimed in. I felt myself blush a tiny bit, probably not even noticeable, as Fred, George, and Lee all turned to look at me.

"Wow. I didn't think that Americans could cook," Lee said, shock evident in his voice.

"Thanks Lee. Much appreciated. Remind me to never cook for you again," I replied, giving his shoulder a light push.

"I think that might have even been better than the breakfasts at Hogwarts, Forge," Fred said, turning to face his brother.

"That's a close call, Gred. I mean, it was all really good, but there were no eggs, or black pudding, or mushrooms, or tomatoes," George said, a frown coming across his lips.

"But Forge, not every girl can create a breakfast that tastes that good, especially after a night of heavy drinking."

"Not to mention, it was her first night drinking with us."

"Oh please. Drinking with you guys was no worse than drinking with my friends back in Cali," I scoffed, leaning back in my chair.

"Cali? As in California?" Alicia asked. When I nodded, she let out a squeal. "You are so lucky! I have always wanted to go there on holiday. It looks absolutely gorgeous!" I saw that the boys started talking amongst themselves, obviously realizing that this was girl-time.

"Yeah. It really is. I had a house right on the beach too, so I got to wake up each morning to a view of the ocean and watch as the sun set over that same ocean each night. I think that's going to be one of the things that I really miss the most."

"More than all your friends? I know it would kill me if I was forced to move halfway across the world to a country where I knew absolutely no one."

"Not more than them, but it is high up there. And I do really miss my friends, especially all of the fun that we had together during the school year. My friends Tyler, Amanda, and I were the biggest pranksters in our entire school. We were always getting sent to our headmaster's office, but he was more like that amazing uncle that everyone wishes they had rather than a headmaster. We spent our time there playing different Muggle games and just having fun skipping class." I looked up at Alicia, expecting to see her roll her eyes at me, only to see her looking at me with eyes bugged out in shock. I was about to ask her what was wrong when one of the guys beat me to it. Or so I thought.

"You pulled pranks at your old school?" I looked over at hearing Wood's voice, only to see all four boys staring at me in shock and skepticism.

"Yeah. You name it, and we probably did it," I replied, not really seeing why this was such a big deal.

"But, you're a girl." Lee looked over at me, confusion evident on his face.

"Yes I am. I'm glad you noticed."

"I think what Lee meant was that none of the pranksters at Hogwarts are female. And the three of us would know. George and I are the biggest pranksters there, with Lee coming in a distant third," Fred explained, though he was still looking at like I had started speaking tongues.

"Well that's nice to know. Now I hate to burst your bubble of manliness, but I plan on causing chaos once I get to Hogwarts. I mean, if you three can get away with it, it obviously can't be too hard."

That finally got through their shock. Alicia and Wood started full out laughing, while Fred and George just looked at each other, and Lee knocked into me with his shoulder.

"Forge, I think it might be time to offer Angie an invitation to join us in mischief making once we get back."

"I was thinking the same thing, Gred." Both of them turned back to face me. "What do you say, Angie?"

"Do you want to see if you can keep up with the infamous Weasley twins and their lackey Lee?" Fred ducked his head in time to miss the swipe that Lee aimed at him.

"That depends on if you think you can keep up with the famous Angie," I replied, a smirk widening on my lips.

* * *

The twins and I stayed at Wood's house for a couple more hours, leaving to head back to the burrow around 4 pm. Turned out that George had grabbed my wand before coming upstairs with Fred and Lee, which he only told me after I had scrambled around downstairs in Wood's basement trying to find it. Wood also lent me some of his younger sister's clothes to wear back to the Burrow, since I really didn't want to transfigure my clothes any more than I had too and didn't want to wear the same clothes that I had worn last night.

Unfortunately, his little sister seemed to be going through what I kindly called a 'Prostitot' phase. The only thing that I found that even fit me, without major transfiguring being done to it, was a tiny denim mini skirt, a bright blue sleeveless shirt with a large keyhole down to my navel, under which I wore a white tank top, otherwise my boobs would pop out, a plain black cardigan, and a pair of black leggings. I dressed as quickly as I could in his sister's room, cringing in pain the entire time. When I walked out, I could tell that everyone was fighting to contain their laughter.

"If any of you mention this ever again, or take any photographic evidence that I ever looked like this, I will kill you in a very slow and painful way." I glared at each and every one of them, hoping that my message was loud and clear.

It was, as everyone immediately got themselves under control. The twins and I said good bye to everyone before heading back downstairs to Floo back to the Burrow.

* * *

To say that Mrs. Weasley was mad that we stayed out until after 4 pm the next day was an understatement. Her face was the exact color of a maraschino cherry as she ripped a new one into Fred and George. Surprisingly, neither one of them appeared to be all that frightened of her, almost like this was an everyday occurrence, which, now that I thought about it, it probably was. Weird thing was, Mrs. Weasley wasn't mad at me, only hoped that I had a good time and wanted to make sure that her sons hadn't tried to 'get fresh' with me.

Leaving the boys to get their tongue lashing from their mother, I walked up to Ginny's room, wanting to get out of the travesty that was the outfit I had on. When I went in, I noticed that she wasn't there, which made me heave a sigh of relief. I quickly stripped down to my bra and underwear, stashing the borrowed clothes underneath the mattress of the extra bed, before reaching into my blue bag that had been moved to 'my' bed. I grabbed the gray off the shoulder sweater and boot cut jeans and put them on quickly. I had just finished tugging the sweater over my head and was adjusting it when Ginny walked in.

"I figured you would be up here. So, how was your night with my brothers?" Ginny plopped down on her bed, fixing her full attention on me.

Laughing, I fell back onto 'my' bed. "From what I can remember, it was very eventful. But I got totally smashed, so most of the night is a blur."

Ginny started chuckling behind her hand. "So who all was there? Anyone you think will be great friends? Oh, better yet, anyone you can already tell is a total bitch?"

I twisted around on the bed until I was lying on my stomach, my face pointed towards Ginny. "Well, Angelina was there with George, Alicia was with Wood, Lee Jordan and Katie Bell were both there, along with Chelsea something, her boyfriend Sean, Brit Hayes, and her boyfriend John. I can tell that Angelina, Alicia, and I are going to get along fantastically together. Brit and Chelsea seemed nice enough, but Chelsea pretty much stuck next to her boyfriend from what I can remember. The boys were all nice, but I don't remember really talking to John or Sean all that much. But I can tell that Katie is going to be jealous bitch already," Ginny started laughing, but I just kept talking. "She seemed to think that something was going on between Lee and me, even though we had just met! He was a nice guy, but that was it. Besides, it's not like I'm the type of girl who jumps into bed with the first guy I meet."

"No, that would be Fred or George," came Ginny's reply, a smirk claiming her lips.

"Wait, what? Your brothers are man whores? I guess I can kinda see that." I let out a squeal as a pillow suddenly attacked my face.

"Ew! I wasn't calling my brothers man whores! I was saying if you slept with the first guy you met here, it would have been Fred or George, not Lee."

I shuddered, before throwing Ginny's pillow back at her. "That would be disgusting. Not that I have anything against Fred and George, they are both really nice and kind of adorable, but I only just met them yesterday. And George has a girlfriend!"

"Please, if you value my sanity, never call my brothers adorable again." It looked like Ginny might have wanted to toss her pillow back at my head, but decided against it. "And just so you know, Mum was furious that we weren't able to go to Diagon Alley to pick up our supplies. That's the biggest reason that she is letting into Fred and George right now. So now we get to go tomorrow. Mum wants you to spend the night tonight if you can, since it would be easier than you going back and forth between your house and ours so much, but she said she would understand if you wanted to go home and settle in."

"Um, well, I'd have to talk to my mom and dad first, and also go home to get clothes, before I can say anything," I paused for a second, frowning. "Actually, Tessa should have gotten back by now with a message from Mom."

"Your owl got back this morning. She's in Pig's cage down in the kitchen." At that, I got off the bed and pulled the door to Ginny's room open, heading down the stairs before Ginny could even say anything.

I walked into the kitchen, which was thankfully empty of Mrs. Weasley and the twins. I immediately saw Tessa in the same cage that she was in yesterday. I hurried over, hearing someone entering the kitchen behind me, most likely Ginny. I took Tessa out of the cage, checking both of her legs for a note. When I didn't find one, I let out a disgruntled sigh, putting Tessa back in the cage.

"Angie?" I turned at Ginny's voice, seeing her pointing at the area in front of the cage. Looking down, I saw an envelope on the table with my name printed on the front. Grabbing the envelope, I ripped it open, reading my mother's handwriting.

_ Mouse_

_ I'm glad that everything seems to be working out with _

_you and Ginny, and that you are even spending some time with_

_kids in your grade tonight. _

_ When your father and I came into work tonight, we were_

_told that our assignment is going to be taking us to Romania on _

_official business for Prime Minister Fudge. I can't go into any more_

_detail, except to say that we will be gone for at least a week. Your_

_father and I are trying to make it back in time to see you onto the _

_train._

_ We managed to drop by the house this morning to unload_

_all of the suitcases we had, so if you want to stay at the house_

_from now on you can. However, you can stay at the Weasley's if _

_they ask you to. That might actually be better, that way your father_

_and I know that you are at least in good hands. Send me an owl_

_when you can._

_ Love_

_ Mom and Dad_

"Well, that answers one question. Mom wants me to spend the night here if I can since her and Dad are out of the country." I turned to look at Ginny, who just smiled at me. "I guess that means we have to go to my house to pick up something for me to wear tomorrow then.

* * *

That night just flew by. Ginny and I spent the entire time getting to know each other more. We had typical girl time, painting each other's nails, having gag 'make-overs', and I even got her to watch the movie _He's Just Not That Into You_ on my laptop that I had grabbed from my house. We wound up falling asleep around 2 the next morning.

We were awoken that afternoon by Mrs. Weasley knocking on the door, telling us that we had an hour until we were leaving for Diagon Alley. Ginny buried herself under her covers, muttering something along the lines of "10 more minutes." I threw back the covers of my bed, getting to my feet. I got dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a bright orange tank top, and a green zip-up that had 'Ireland' printed across the front. I pulled on a fresh pair of socks before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and finish getting ready.

By the time that I got back to the room, Ginny was up and dressed in an emerald green long sleeve t-shirt, a pair of boot-cut jeans, and her black chucks. After I had dropped my toothbrush, toothpaste, and everything else into my bag, we headed downstairs to the kitchen to grab some brunch.

After everyone was at the table and finished eating, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and I went into the living room to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron, which Ginny told me was the entrance to Diagon Alley. The twins went through first, followed by Ginny, then me.

I really don't like traveling by Floo. Actually, I might even hate it more than Apparition. I hate how messy it is and how soot from all the fireplaces that are passed gets everywhere. Once I got to the Leaky Cauldron, I looked down at my clothes, groaning when I saw that I was almost completely gray and black. Taking out my wand and muttering a quick cleansing charm, I managed to right myself by the time that Ron and Mrs. Weasley came out of the fireplace.

"Well, right this way, dears. Just like always," Mrs. Weasley chirped as she shuffled all of us towards the back of the bar, into a tiny alleyway behind it. It was a little cramped with the six of us back there.

"Now, Angie, dear, pay close attention to the order that I tap these bricks. If you ever want to enter into Diagon Alley, you need to know this sequence," Mrs. Weasley stressed to me. She then, very slowly, tapped out a sequence on the brick wall. At first nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the wall began to move, separating enough to form an archway through which the six of us walked through.

Diagon Alley was quite similar to the magical part of Los Angeles that I was used to. From what I could tell, there were various shops, from a Quidditch supply store to an Owlery to a large white structure that rose at the very end of the long street. I immediately recognized it as a Gringotts, since there was one just like it, white marble and everything, back in Los Angeles.

"I'm going to go meet up with Harry," Ron stated, before turning and walking off into the crowd. I shook my head before I noticed the twins edging away as well. Ginny was currently glaring daggers at them, probably for leaving her with their mother.

"Well, I see that Fred and George have run off also. Ginny, if you want to take Angie to Madam Malkin's to get her robes, I can go and pick up all the books that you two need," Mrs. Weasley stated, nudging me and Ginny down the street. I had already given Mrs. Weasley a copy of what I still needed from my supply list, along with a sizable amount of money to pay for everything that she was picking up for me.

"Okay Mum," Ginny replied, pasting a cheesy smile on her face. As we turned around she whispered into my ear. "C'mon, let's get out of here while we can."

As Ginny and I walked through the crowded street, she stayed quiet, giving me time to take everything in. I turned my head to see Mrs. Weasley walking through the door of a store with a sign reading 'Flourish and Blotts', which I guess was the book store. Turning back to look at Ginny, I noticed an apothecary. We continued down the street, me noticing the different stores, Ginny waving to different people who she told me she knew from school. Ginny finally pulled me out of the crowd and into a small well lit shop off on the left.

Upon entering, I noticed that it was almost completely empty, except for two small sitting areas, a table covered in fabric samples, two screened off areas in the back, and a single raised platform that had a semicircle of mirrors surrounding it. The store was decorated in gold, black and white, making it look like a high end boutique. At the sound of the door closing, a small round woman came bustling out to greet us.

"Hello dearies! My name is Madam Malkin. How can I help you today? New dress robes for a special night out perhaps?" the older witch asked with a wink.

"No, nothing that nice. I just transferred to Hogwarts and need a set of black robes to wear, plus a cloak and pointed hat," I replied smiling. I looked over to see Ginny relaxing in a chair in the nearer of the two sitting groups. She had picked up a magazine from a table and was flipping through it.

"Well that is easy dear. But aren't you a bit old to be starting at Hogwarts? You can't be any younger than a fifth year, and even that is pushing it." The older woman looked me over as she led me towards the platform surrounded by mirrors.

"I'm actually starting my seventh year. I transferred from a school in America when my parents got new jobs at the Ministry here," I explained. I had stepped up onto the platform as the woman sent her tape measure to take my measurements. Madam Malkin babbled on the entire time about how much I was going to enjoy Hogwarts and random other things. I tuned her out after a while, thinking instead about how my first day at Hogwarts was going to be. I already knew some people, but all of them were in Gryffindor. What would happen if I wound up in one of the other houses? I don't think it would be so bad if I was in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, mainly since, from what Ginny told me, Gryffindors seemed to generally get along with them. But if I ended up in Slytherin, I had a gut feeling that no matter how close I was to Ginny, Fred, George, and the rest of them before the sorting, we would most likely not be friends after.

I was startled out of my thoughts when I felt someone nudge my shoulder. Looking down, I saw Ginny looking at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" When I shook my head, Ginny just sighed. "I didn't think so. I was saying that perhaps you should get a new pair of dress robes. There are a couple dances each year and it might be good to have a new pair. Merlin knows that I wish I could buy some new ones for a change." She smiled at me, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

I looked down at Ginny, thinking for a moment. Then I looked up, c aught the eyes of Madam Malkin, who was in the middle of directing her scissors and sewing machine to make my robes. She walked over as soon as everything was underway.

"Was there something else you needed dear?"

"Actually, yes. I was wondering what books you might have to show the styles of dress robes you make. I think I might need some after all." This brought a smile to Madam Malkins face.

"Of course. Go sit down and I will bring them out to you." With that, she hurried to the backroom of her shop as we walked over to where Ginny had been sitting before. We had just sat down when a large binder came floating over. I looked up to see Madam Malkin back to work on my school robes before turning my attention back to the binder on the table. I flipped the binder open and started looking through the various sketches with Ginny. There were dresses of all lengths, shapes, necklines, and fabrics. There were what looked like large fluffy princess dresses to sleeker and sexier cocktail dresses. Going through the binder, Ginny pointed out the robes that she absolutely loved and had wanted for the Yule Ball, whatever that was, in her third year. She said that she wasn't able to get them because her mum couldn't afford to spend that much money on one pair of robes. And these robes were stunning. It was an A-line gown with a deep V-neckline that was fitted through the hips, where it then gently flared out. The back had a criss-cross tie and was mostly open until quite low on the back. I could just imagine it on Ginny in a jewel green.

As we flipped through, my eyes finally landed on what looked like the perfect set of robes for me. It was an A-line, like the one Ginny liked, except mine had a slightly ruched bodice and was only fitted through the waist. The skirt flowed out from there with a chiffon skirt over it. However, unlike most of the other sketches that were in the binder, this one had specific colors in place. It was a pale sky blue and a light cocoa brown, almost like the material was tye-dyed. It was simply stunning. When I pointed it out to Ginny, she simply said that every guy who saw me in that dress would just die. I took it as a compliment. I was about to call Madam Malkin over when I looked up to see her standing next to me.

"I have all of your school robes, your cloak, and your hat done. Have you decided on any dress robes?" she asked as she handed me a bag which contained all of my purchases.

"Yes, I think we have. I want these," I said, pointing to the dress. "And I want to get these for my friend here," I added, flipping back to the page that had the dress Ginny adored on it.

"Angie, no! I can't let you buy those for me! They are way too expensive!" Ginny exclaimed, obviously shocked that I would even consider buying them for her.

"Ginny, don't worry about it. Think of them as a 'thank you' for letting me stay at your house this weekend. And the money is no problem. I made more than enough over the summer to be able to buy you these and still have money to replenish my candy supply," I joked, smiling at her, hoping that she would just let it be and not fight me. I could tell that she really wanted to have them, but something seemed to be wrong.

"I would really love to have them, but Mum would ask way too many questions if I suddenly brought home a new set of dress robes. And as soon as she found out you bought them, she would make me return them and give you your money back," Ginny explained. "Mum doesn't like to accept help from people outside the family. She says that we can get by on our own, even if it means not having everything that we want."

"Well then, I'll just hold onto them until we get to Hogwarts. Once we are there, I'll give them to you and you can tell your mom, once she sees them, that they were either a Christmas or birthday present from me. That can't hurt, can it?" I asked. Suddenly, Ginny was flying at me, pulling me into a huge hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She chanted into my ear. I could hear Madam Malkin chuckling from behind us. "You have no idea how much this means to me!" She let go of me and allowed the older woman to lead her away to get measured for her dress.

After Ginny was finished getting measured and Madam Malkin had assured us that she would owl the dress robes to my house by the end of the week, I paid for everything and we left the shop.

We continued down the crowded street, stopping in stores every once in a while. We had to stop in the Quidditch Supply Store so that I could pick up a new pair of cleats, since my old ones had basically fallen apart. Basically, we just walked around, talking about whatever popped into our heads and just had a great time. That is, until we bumped into _them._

Ginny and I had just been standing outside Gringotts, talking about what the best Every Flavor Bean was, when suddenly someone rammed their shoulder into mine, causing me to stumble forward into Ginny with a groan of pain. When I had gotten my balance back, I looked back to see a group of four boys standing before us. The one in front, who seemed to be the leader of the group, had white blond hair and a somewhat pointy face. Two of the boys seemed to be bouncers, or at least had that build. Yet those two also seemed to have very little in the brains department since one was using his wand to scratch his ass and the other was digging his finger into his ear. The last boy was the one that actually caught my attention. He was taller than the blond boy, had messy black hair and quite pretty gray eyes. He was dressed so differently than the others. While the first three boys were all dressed in very expensive looking fabrics, this last one was wearing a tight black t-shirt, ripped up jeans, a black leather jacket, and what looked to be a pair of black leather boots underneath his jeans. He kind of reminded me of John Travolta when he played Danny in 'Grease'. He also seemed the most detached from the group, yet still part of it. While all of the other boys were sneering at Ginny and I, this one was looking at me like I was a puzzle that needed to be solved, which made me a little on edge. I wasn't used to being stared at like a piece of meat.

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here? I think I see some fresh meat boys," said the blond boy. I turned to look at him, my mouth falling slightly open in shock. Just who did this boy think he was?

"Excuse me? I don't know, nor do I care, who you are. C'mon Gin, let's get out of here." I turned to leave, only to feel a hand tightly grab my left wrist. Turning back to see who grabbed me, I came face to face with blond boy.

"Leaving without even telling us your name? I don't think that's very polite of you," the boy sneered, causing me to lean away and his two buffoons to laugh like idiots.

"Like you would know anything about being polite, Malfoy. You wouldn't recognize it if it came up and swung a beater's bat into your precious pureblood nose," Ginny replied sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What was that, Weaslette? I'm afraid I don't speak Blood Traitor."

My blood felt like it turned to ice. I could see that the two bouncer types behind the blond boy start to chuckle. I had never heard someone actually use that word in a public place before, let alone actually directed at someone. I wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind that I thought would have any effect on him. So, I did what I thought would take the smirks off of their faces. I whipped my right hand up and let it fly across his face, the loud smack of skin against skin sounding in the silence.

Malfoy dropped my wrist as he brought his hand up to his face, holding the cheek I had just back-handed.

"Don't you ever call her that again, or you will know what true pain feels like." I turned, grabbing Ginny's wrist, and walked away from the group of boys, thankful when I didn't hear them follow. When we turned a corner, I dropped Ginny's hand and collapsed onto a bench, Ginny falling right beside me.

"Thank you for standing up for me. Malfoy can be such an arse," Ginny said vehemently.

"It's no problem. But who were those guys back there? I'm guessing that they go to Hogwarts."

"Yes, unfortunately. The blond was Draco Malfoy. He's a complete prat and loves nothing more than to ruin a perfectly good day with his presence. The two idiots behind him were Crabbe and Goyle. They are pretty much his bodyguards, since he is too much of a pansy to fight for himself. I'm not quite sure who the other guy was though. I think he might be a seventh year, but I don't know anything about him. All of them are Slytherins though, I can tell you that much. Oh, I think that that other boy might be on their Quidditch team. But I've never really paid much attention to what the Slytherins look like."

I nodded, letting all the information sink in. After meeting just that small group of Slytherins, I could already tell that I would rather die than end up I that house. A chill went up my spine just at the thought of it.

I realized that suddenly I had no desire to continue shopping, probably because of the Slytherin run-in. I turned to Ginny.

"Do you want to go and find your mom or brothers? I think I'm done with shopping today." Ginny nodded her head and we both stood up, heading off to try and find the other Weasleys.

After we found the rest of the Weasleys, we Flooed back to the Burrow. I stayed until dinner and then I headed back to my house. When I got home, I noticed that the entire house was now furnished. I didn't stop to look closely at anything, just hurried upstairs to get to my room.

Once I got there, I dropped all of my bags on the couch in my sitting room. I dragged my school trunk over from where it sat at the end of my bed. I put all of the books that Mrs. Weasley bought for me, along with my school robes, hat, cloak, and Quidditch cleats, into the trunk neatly, before adding a very large box of sugar quills, every flavor beans, chocolate frogs, and licorice wands on the very top. I carefully shut the lid and moved it back to the foot of my bed. I then dragged my bag full of clothes to my bathroom, emptying the dirty clothes into my hamper. I dropped the bag off in my closet before changing into my pajamas and collapsing on my bed. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

* * *

The rest of my week wasn't that eventful. I spent the majority of Tuesday and Wednesday reading random books that I had in my room and just being lazy. On Thursday, I finally remembered to owl Amanda to let her know that everything was okay, before going back to my Pirates of the Caribbean movie marathon. It was later that night, as I was fixing myself some dinner, in other words a grilled cheese and some chicken noodle soup, when a strange owl tapped on my kitchen window.

It carried a message from Angelina Johnson, asking if I wanted to go out to lunch next day with her, Alicia, and Brit. I finished eating dinner before going up to my room and owling back that I would love to and I would meet them outside of the Leaky Cauldron the next day at noon.

I woke up the next day at 11. I took a quick shower before changing into a long sleeve purple v-neck t-shirt, a pair of super skinny dark wash jeans, and knee-high gray boots. I added a bronze key necklace just for kicks before Apparating to the Leaky Cauldron. I saw the girls sitting at the bar with a couple older men making eyes at them. Rolling my eyes, I walked over and sat down next to Brit.

"Hey guys. So, where are we going for lunch?" I asked as I pulled myself up onto the bar stool.

"Hey Angie. We were thinking about going to this Muggle pub around the block that supposedly has really delicious food," Brit replied with a smile.

"They are supposed to have the best dessert fondue in the country. And I am a sucker for a good chocolate covered strawberry," Angelina exclaimed, causing the four of us to start laughing.

After Alicia, Angelina, and Brit had finished the drinks they had, we left the Leaky Cauldron and ventured into Muggle London. We walked down the street a bit, Angelina and Alicia pointing out different Muggle places, until we arrived at The Lexington. It looked really nice from the outside, like five star restaurant nice, but Brit assured me that it was a lounge bar that had rock'n'roll bands perform almost nightly. Once we went inside, I was immediately reminded of a show that I went to go see a few years past, _The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas_. There were velvet drapes with gold fringe trim, plush red velvet settees, columns to the ceiling, yet there were still ventilation ducts that could be seen running along the ceiling. It was trashy trying to look classy, like a whorehouse.

There was a bar that ran the length of two walls, and a scattering of tables and chairs. Seeing that the place was mostly empty, we sat down at the bar. The bartender, a tall male, who looked to be in his early twenties, with shaggy brown hair, a tight black t-shirt, and a pair of ripped up jeans, walked over to us, a smile etched on his face. I noticed that there was a hint of a tattoo poking out from underneath the left sleeve of his shirt.

"Hello ladies. What can I do for you?" He laid his hands on the bar and looked over the four of us.

"I think we'll start off with waters," Alicia volunteered, looking at everyone to make sure it was okay.

"Four Manhattans it is." The bartender turned to his liquor and started mixing things together.

I opened up the menu that was in front of me, browsing over the different foods. I had just decided on the buffalo wings and folded up the menu when the bartender place a glass in front of me with a wink. I smiled, looking over at the other girls who had also just finished browsing the menu.

"So, what did you want to eat, love?" He was leaning on his elbows in front of me, staring into my eyes.

"I want the buffalo wings, with extra ranch. I'm not sure if I can handle something that hot in my mouth right now," I answered, a smirk on my lips. The bartender let out a chuckle before turning to the rest of the girls. Brit got the quesadillas, Alicia the vegetarian plate, and Angelina finished the group off with a full rack off ribs. Me, Brit, and Alicia turned to stare at her.

"What? I like my meat," was the only answer that Angelina gave.

The bartender was about to go put our orders in when Angelina stopped him.

"Wait a second." The man stopped and turned back towards us. "You never told us your name? Are we just supposed to call you 'bartender' the entire afternoon?" Angelina asked, arching her eyebrow. The man laughed.

"How about you pretty ladies tell me your names first. It's only fair," He added before leaning against the bar.

"Okay. My name's Angie and this is Brit, Alicia, and Angelina," I offered. "Now, Mr. Bartender, what is yours?"

"It's Jordan. Now I'll have your food out in just a little bit," Jordan said before turning away to go to the kitchens.

"I really hate to see him leave, but oh how I love to see him walk away," I whispered into Brit's ear. She started laughing and smacked me on the shoulder.

"So Angie," Brit drawled, turning in my direction. "What is going on between you and Fred?"

I had just taken a sip of my water and almost sprayed it all over the counter. Coughing it down, I cleared my throat. "Nothing. We're just friends."

"Sure, just friends. I'm guessing people who are just 'friends' sleep in the same bed together when they are completely drunk," Alicia added with a sly smile.

"We were drunk! I barely even remember last night. But I just met the boy, it's not like I'm going to go and jump his bones or something," I countered, throwing Alicia a glare.

"Leave her alone. It's not like all of us haven't done something stupid when drunk. After a party in the common room last year, Alicia and Brit were so drunk that they went up to the first year boy's dorm instead of their own. Even started getting ready to take a shower. Gave those boys quite an eye full," Angelina threw in, earning glares from Brit and Alicia.

"I thought that we agreed to not mention that ever again," Alicia said heatedly.

"The opportunity was too good to pass up," Angelina replied with a smirk.

"Was that the opportunity to stare at my arse as I walked back to put in your orders?"

All four of turned to see Jordan standing behind us, a wide smile on his lips, before laughter burst from all of our mouths.

The next two hours were spent teasing Jordan, who just teased us right back. The bar never really got busy, probably because of how early it was. Before we left, Jordan demanded that we talk a picture with him and sign it, so that he could hang it up on the mirror behind the bar. For the picture, Jordan stood in front of the bar, with me on one side and Brit on the other. Angelina and Alicia were sitting on the bar top behind the three of us. It actually turned out quite cute, even though it was a Muggle picture and couldn't move. He printed it off in the office in back and each of us signed it. As we were leaving, he thanked us all for coming and discreetly slipped a napkin with his phone number on it into my hand.

After we got out of the bar, the other girls rounded on me.

"Did Jordan just give you his number?" "Are you going to call him?" "He was so hot Angie." "Did you see that tattoo poking out of his shirt? Can you say H-O-T." The questions kept coming at me and I couldn't tell who was asking what.

"Hold on a second!" Brit, Angelina, and Alicia all took a breath to let me talk. "Yes he gave me his number, but no, I'm not going to call him. What would be the point? We're leaving for school in less than a week and I won't be able to see him again until the holiday. Besides, I don't want to be in a relationship, or whatever, just yet. I want some time to get used to things around here, maybe know the guy for more than a day," I explained.

"But he is like so hot!" Brit whined. "Letting a gorgeous hunk of man meat like that go is just so wrong. It's like ordering a piece of triple chocolate fudge cake with whipped cream and cherries only to not even eat it."

"One of us needed to snare him. Since you are the only one here that doesn't have a boyfriend, you need to step up and claim him before some Muggle girl does," Angelina explained.

"It's not like you need to tell him you're a witch or anything. Just tell him that you go to school out of the country. A boarding school in Scotland. I'm sure he would understand. Besides, sometimes long distance relationships are the best," Alicia added. "Oliver and I haven't been in school together since my fifth year. It's nice to not have to spend every waking moment with him at the castle, so that when we are able to see each other, we always have something new to talk about and new experiences to share."

I really wished that they would stop trying to convince me to call Jordan and ask him out. I decided to just repeat myself and, hopefully, they would finally give up. "I understand what you are saying, I really do. But I'm just not ready for a relationship. I would have three days that we might be able to see each other during before heading to Hogwarts. How could I expect him to want a relationship after knowing me for three days? I wouldn't want a relationship with anyone that I have only known for three days! It's insane! It's like a prolonged blind date, during which we would both be tied down to each other. And while I would just love to run my hands all over his gorgeously muscled body, it's just not going to happen. Maybe after the year is over, if I decide to stay here."

The three of them agreed that I had a point, but Brit still told me that I should give Jordan a call. After all, according to her, he did have quite a nice arse, and she would totally tap it if she wasn't already dating John.

* * *

After I said goodbye to the girls in front of the Leaky Cauldron, I found a safe place to Apparate home. I spent the rest of the day and most of the next going through the clothes that I would be bringing with me. I had almost everything I needed shrunk down inside my trunk, including the dress robes that had arrived on Friday.

I was curled up with a book wearing my sweat pants and a tank top in my sitting room when I heard a tap on my bedroom window. Putting the book down on the couch next to me, I went into the room, seeing Tessa knocking on the glass. I opened the window and took the note off her leg before putting her in her cage with a few owl treats. I brought the letter back to the sitting room and sat down before beginning it.

_Angie~_

_ I am so glad that you and Ginny are getting along so well. But I do _

_wish that I was there with you. Getting ready for seventh year without you _

_is absolutely horrible, especially when I realized that I would have to share _

_a suite with Kelly and Michele without you. I just know that I am going to _

_send one, maybe both, of them to the Nurse this year. You know how much _

_they got on my nerves last year._

_ Tyler has finally realized that he was an ass to you. I had to smack _

_him around a bit at first, but he finally came to his senses. He wants me to _

_tell you that he is sorry and wishes that he could take everything back. _

_ I have to say though, I am completely jealous of you right now. You _

_have two amazingly hot guys, not to mention they are twins!!, following _

_you around while all I have is Tyler. I so wish I was in your place right now _

_or, better yet, that I was there with you. _

_ Well, I have some good news! I was named seventh year captain _

_this year since you aren't here. Isn't it amazing?! I never thought that I _

_was the second best player in the year! I thought for sure that Tyler was _

_going to be named captain. I promise to let you know how ever game turns _

_out, since I know you will be curious. _

_ I really don't know what else to say right now, so I am going to _

_finish this off before going out with my family for lunch. I miss you so much_

_and I can't wait until I can see you again._

_Friends forever,_

_ Amanda_

I finished reading the letter and set it down on the couch next to my book. It was good to hear from Amanda, yet strange to hear all about the friends I had that I wouldn't see again for at least a year. I figured that I would be sad, but I really wasn't. Sure, I missed them, but I already had new friends here that were causing me to put California and everything in it on a back burner. I felt like a bad friend, but there was really nothing I could do about.

I was really glad to hear that Amanda had made captain instead of Tyler though. It's not that Tyler was a bad player or anything; he was just always about the win and not about the fun. Amanda would make sure that everyone had fun while on the team while trying their hardest to win.

Yawning, I realized how tired I actually was. I folded the letter up and stuck it into my book to mark my spot before moving into my room and falling asleep on my bed.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope you liked it. The next chapter is going to include the final two days before term begins and the train to Hogwarts. I'm not sure when it is going to be finished to tell you the absolute truth because I have a ten page research paper due this next Tuesday, so I'm going to be working on that whenever I have any down time. I hope that this long chapter will tide you over until chapter 8 comes out. **

**Thank you for reading and please leave a review! Oh, and bonus points for whoever can guess who the fourth guy in Malfoy's group was.  
**


	8. Chapter 8: We All Roll Along

_**Author's Note: I am so sorry about how long it has been. So don't make it any longer, go and read. A longer note will be at the end.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, own any of J.K. Rowling's amazing characters. I also do not own any of the songs or bands that I refer to throughout this story.  
**_

* * *

I woke up the morning of Tuesday September 1 with a yawn. I had set my alarm to go off at 9am, an ungodly early hour, so that I could make sure that I had everything prepared before leaving for Kings Cross Station. I swung my feet out of bed, thinking about how the past two days had seemed to fly by.

_**

* * *

**_

I didn't plan on doing much of anything on Sunday or Monday, spending most of my time either reading or out in my backyard just flying around on my Firebolt. I had thought about going over to the Burrow to see Ginny, but I just wanted some time by myself to think. I also waited for a letter from Mom and Dad, hopefully saying that they would be able to come home in time to see me onto the train. But Sunday came and went, along with most of Monday, and no word had come. It was right after I had finished eating dinner, and was about to go through everything I had packed for what seemed like the hundredth time, when something finally happened.

It was almost 11 that night when I heard the tap against the window in my bedroom. Looking up, I was just able to make out an unfamiliar black owl outside my window. I let the owl in, barely able to retrieve my letter before the bird took off out the open window, blending into the dark sky. I ripped open the envelope and saw Mom's handwriting. Sitting down on the edge of my bed, I began to read her small print.

_ Angie~_

_ I was getting worried that I hadn't heard from you. There should _

_have been some time in the past week that you could have spared to put a _

_quill to parchment. I have been so distracted from worrying about you that_

_I haven't been able to concentrate at all in any of the meetings that I have _

_been going to. I was reprimanded by the Minister himself for not remem-_

_bering to finish some important paperwork for him just yesterday. _

_ Because of that, the Minster is not allowing your father and I to _

_come and see you onto the train. I don't want you to feel like I am blaming _

_you, but you really should have sent off an owl. How am I supposed to know_

_that you are okay if I don't hear from you? _

_ Well, I have to get back to working on something for Minister Fudge. _

_Your father and I are really busy so I doubt that either of us will have much_

_time to write over the next few days, maybe even weeks. I hope that you _

_enjoy the beginning of term and your father and I will see you come your _

_winter holiday. _

_ Love,_

_ Mom and Dad_

I guess I was supposed to feel guilty, which I did, but Mom's letter made me madder more than anything else. On the day that I was going to be leaving for school, in the country that they dragged me to, Mom and Dad weren't even going to be there. I never asked for this to happen to me, yet Mom was blaming me, like I had a choice in this matter. From the sound of her letter, I doubt Minister Fudge would have let either one of them leave with how busy they sounded. Either that, or Fudge was just a complete bastard. I ripped the letter into a bunch of little pieces before throwing them into the trash.

I tried to concentrate on going through all my clothes that I had packed, but I just couldn't. I needed to get out of the house and talk to someone, anyone, and the only place I could think to go was the Burrow. I threw on my purple Cobra hoodie over my white tank top and black basketball shorts, slipping on a pair of black flip flops. I raced down the stairs, not stopping until I had reached the living room on the first floor of the house. I came to a halt before the fireplace, glad that the fire was still lit from earlier, and tossed in some Floo powder. I jumped in the fire and yelled out 'The Burrow' before being spiraled around the different fireplaces in England and spit out on the carpet in the Weasley's living room.

I jumped to my feet, cursing the Floo process under my breath, and tried to brush as much soot off as I could.

"Hello? Ginny?" I called out. The house was eerily quiet, more so than I had ever heard it. When I was at the Burrow last weekend, there was always someone or something making some sort of noise. It seemed almost unnatural that it was so quiet. "Ginny? Hello? Is anyone here?"

There was still the same quiet, becoming slightly unnerving. I made my way out of the living room, walking back towards the kitchen. I was hoping someone might be in there, but no one was in sight. The kitchen seemed also too large without Mrs. Weasley bustling around in it.

"Hello? Is anybody in here? Ginny? Fred? George? Anyone?" I turned around and slowly made my way up the stairs. I saw that Ginny's door was open and looked in to no avail. I continued up the stairs, thinking maybe she was in one of her brother's rooms. I checked all of the rooms I passed. There was no sign of anyone in the other room on the first floor, or in the bathroom, or in the twins' room. I was just passing the third floor landing when the door on my left was opened and an arm shot out and grabbed me. I shrieked, a little out of shock but mostly out of fear. I was dragged inside the room and shoved towards a bed in the far corner.

I managed to catch myself on the edge of the bed instead of sprawling out over it. I turned to face the person who captured me, only to pause at the sight of someone who was obviously a Weasley. The man, because he certainly wasn't a boy, was a little shorter than the twins, but still taller than me by a few inches, with auburn hair that was not quite shoulder length and piercing eyes that reminded me of melting honey. He was leaning against the closed door, wearing a pair of loose denim jeans, what looked like black cowboy boots, and a tight fitting black t-shirt. I figured he had to be Bill, Charlie, or Percy, the three Weasley boys that I had not yet met.

"Which one are you? Bill, Charlie, or Percy?" I asked, still keeping my distance, just in case I was wrong about the man being a Weasley. I managed to slip my hand into my jacket pocket, only to curse myself for having forgotten my wand back at my house.

"I think that the better question is who are you and what are you doing in my house," the man asked, still looking at me and tapping his wand on his arm.

I eyed his wand carefully before answering him, never taking my eyes off his hand. "I'm Angie Westermann. I'm a good friend of your sister Ginny, along with Fred and George. I just came over here because I needed to get out of my house and talk to someone," I answered, briefly looking up at his face. "Now why don't you tell me who you are?"

"I've never heard of you," the man said, ignoring my question. "Why did you decide to come here rather than go to your family, or even another one of your friends?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, mildly annoyed by all of his questions. "My parents aren't in the country right now, I have no siblings, no one else in my family lives here, and all of my friends are back in the States. I just moved here a little over a week ago when my parents got transferred. I'm going to be in the same year as the twins. Now, why don't you answer my question? Which brother are you?" I demanded, stressing each of the words. I was starting to get tired of the third degree. I was tempted to just Apparate out of the room and back home, but I still really needed to talk to someone. And I didn't have my wand, which made Apparition impossible. And for some reason I doubted that this guy would just let me walk downstairs and Floo back home.

"Let me see your left arm."

I blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Let me see your left arm," the man repeated, slowly approaching me.

I slid my arm behind my back. "Why?"

The man ignored my question, just reaching out and yanking my arm back around to my front. Despite my objections, and believe me there were quite a few, he shoved the left arm of my jacket up and thoroughly inspected my left forearm. I was almost positive that this man was bat-shit crazy when he dropped my arm and looked up at me with a smile.

"What the fuck was that about?" I seethed, pulling my jacket back into place.

"Just needed to make sure that you weren't a Death Eater. Can't be too careful these days," he responded, moving back across the room. "But what are you doing here? Why aren't you with your parents? It's not a safe time to be staying by yourself."

"It's none of your business! I don't know you, nor have you given me any reason to trust you, so why should I tell you anything?" I practically hissed at him, before pausing. "Besides what I've already told you."

"Very true," the man murmured. "Well, if it helps, I'm Charlie, Fred, George, and Ginny's older brother. I have a job right now in Romania, working on the Dragon Reservation there. I came in for the night since the rest of the family had an important meeting to attend."

"Romania? Then you might have met my parents. They're over there with the Minister right now."

"Wait, your parents are the two new Ministry employees? I did meet them when they were on a tour of the Reserve. Seemed pretty decent, the woman was a bit f a bitch, but still decent," Charlie replied.

"Um, sure. They kind of are, I guess." I wasn't really comfortable with this guy insulting my mom, even if it was true. "So, everyone is out at some kind of meeting tonight? That's a little weird."

"Sort of. My parents are at the meeting. Everyone else is just there for the night so that they are closer to Kings Cross for tomorrow. They are staying at a family friend's house. Gin might have told you about him, goes by the name of Snuffles?" When I shook my head, he just gave me a weak smile. "Okay then. So you said you needed to talk to someone about something? Anything that I can help with?" Charlie went back to leaning against the wall.

"Um, as much as I appreciate your offer, I kinda wanted to talk to someone that I'm actually friends with. No offense," I added quickly. "You seem like a really nice guy, but you really have no clue what is going on and I just really need a friend right now." Charlie just smiled and nodded his head.

"I understand. C'mon. I'll get Gin or one of the twins here in a couple minutes." He pushed himself off the wall and motioned for me to precede him out of the room. We walked downstairs and into the living room in silence before he motioned for me to sit on a couch as he went to the fireplace. He threw in some Floo powder before placing just his head into the flames.

George was cleaning up the kitchen of Grimmauld Place after dinner was over. All the Order of the Phoenix members were in the library having a meeting while Fred, Ginny, and Hermione were in Harry and Ron's room with them. George would have been up there with Fred and the rest of them if their mum hadn't caught them trying to use their Extendable Ears to hear what was going on during the Order meeting. She forced them to separate, promising permanent disfigurement if they didn't do as they were told.

George had long since finished with cleaning dishes and was trying to find something to do. It was incredibly boring, seeing as no one was down there with him. He was currently summoning some of Ron's school books and transfiguring them into spiders. He had just finished with his Transfiguration book, and yes, the irony did strike him, when suddenly he heard his brother's voice from the fireplace.

"Anyone in here?"

George spun around in his chair at the table. There, in the fireplace, was the face of his brother Charlie. George jumped out of his chair and went to kneel at the hearth.

"Charlie? It's George. What's going on?"

"Oh, hey George. I have a friend of yours here at the house and she says that she needs to talk to you, Fred, or Ginny. Would you mind coming back to the house for a little bit? I actually needed to head back to the Reserve tonight but didn't want to leave the house empty. You might want to tell mum what's going on, too. She might start freaking out if you suddenly disappear."

"Oh. Sure. I'll be over in a few minutes," George answered. Charlie's head disappeared, leaving George to stare into the coals of the dying fire, wondering what was going on.

I saw Charlie remove himself from the fireplace after about five minutes. He shook his head to remove the soot stuck there while standing to face me.

"George is coming. And I've got to get back to the Reservation. It was a pleasure to meet you Angie, and I'm sure if Mum has her way I might be seeing you around winter holiday this year. Have a good time at Hogwarts." With that, Charlie turned and walked out the front door. I saw from the window that he walked a few yards from the house before Apparating away.

I sat back down on the couch. I started to wonder why George was the one who was coming. I would more than understand Ginny, and Fred was the closest thing I had to a best guy friend here, but that wasn't saying much. George and I hadn't really had much time to get to know each other. It wasn't that I didn't want to get to know him; it was just that he was either with Ginny or Angelina while I was shoved off on Fred, which suddenly struck me as a little weird. I would have thought the twins would have gone off alone together, leaving me and Ginny alone. But it probably meant nothing. They probably just got tired of being with each other all the time or something.

But really, I knew almost nothing about George. From the little time that I had talked to him, he seemed like a pretty nice guy. A lot like Fred, but that was a give in. He didn't even know anything about what I wanted to talk about, or at least I hadn't talked to him personally about any of it.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear the sound of George Flooing into the room or even see him in my peripherals.

"Angie? What are you doing here?" I jumped at the sudden noise. Looking up, I saw George looking down at me. Without even thinking, I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his torso while burying my head into his chest, tears that I didn't realize I had been holding back coming to full bloom. I felt him stiffen for a moment, probably shocked, before tenderly bringing his arms up to wrap around me.

I buried my face deeper into his shirt, willing the tears to stop. I really didn't like crying in front of people. It made my face all blotchy and my eyes puffy, definitely not cute in any way. I realized I was probably causing George to feel uncomfortable and tried to back away, only to feel him tighten his arms around me.

"It's okay, Angie. Just get it all out," I heard George murmur into my hair, rubbing my back a little awkwardly.

I have no idea how long we stood there, with me crying all over his shirt, but eventually the tears stopped and I was able to calm down. I tried pulling away from George again, and this time he let me, but only so far as an arm's distance. I wiped off my eyes with the sleeve of my jacket before looking up at George with a weak smile.

"Hi," I whispered, my voice coming out somewhat hoarse from all the crying. I fell back on the couch, breaking out of his arms, and started fiddling with one of the worn throw pillows.

I felt George sit down next me, but didn't turn to look at him. I was embarrassed about breaking down in front of him and didn't really want to see his pitying look. Besides, my face was most likely hideously blotchy and I probably had mascara lines trailing down my face.

"So, that was some way to come home. What's going on, Angie? It might help if you talk about it." I took a deep breath before looking up into George's eyes. What I saw made me feel slightly better. There was not one ounce of pity in his eyes, as far as I could tell. Instead, he just looked concerned.

"My parents aren't going to be able to make it out here to see me onto the train tomorrow. And my mom is blaming it on me, saying that since I didn't owl her this past week, she hasn't been able to concentrate and got in trouble for it from the Minister. So while I feel bad about getting her in trouble, I'm also pissed off because she's blaming me for something that wasn't my fault. I was really busy. I was trying to get comfortable in this new home that we have, not to mention trying to get used to this country." I stopped to take a breath. "You know I went for a drive yesterday to clear my head and started driving on the right side of the road. It wasn't until a car almost smashed into me that I remembered that you're supposed to drive on the left side of the road here." I saw George trying to hold back his laughter and smacked at him with my hand. "It's not funny! Now, on top of all that, I'm going to have to go to Kings Cross all by myself tomorrow. I hate that Mom and Dad said that nothing would change once we moved here, but everything has. I feel like I might as well be living here on my own, since they pretty much ditched me once the plane landed." I let out a huge sigh, feeling extremely lighter since I had told someone. I looked over to George, who was just sitting there, blinking an awful lot.

"Wow. That bloody sucks. I'm so glad I'm not you right now," George replied.

I felt my mouth fall open. I could not believe he had just said that to me. I looked up at him, ready to give him a piece of my mind, when I noticed the smile that was threatening to form on his face.

"Why you jackass!" I laughed. I punched him playfully in the arm before he pulled me into a one armed hug.

"It's going to be okay, Angie. You know," George added, pulling back out of the hug, "you can always come with us tomorrow. That way you don't have to go by yourself. Mum would love to see you again. She talks about you non-stop." He paused for a second, almost as if thinking. "Though it is a nice change from her talking about Hero-boy all the time."

While I had no clue who 'Hero-boy' was, I felt an actual smile cross my face, probably for the first time that night. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to intrude. Charlie already told me that your mom already has everything planned for tomorrow, and I don't want to mess that up. But I promise I will meet up with you guys there, so keep an eye out for me. I'll be the girl who looks completely lost and frazzled." George let out a slight chuckle, causing me to smile again. He had a very nice laugh. "But I should probably get back to my house now, you know, to make sure that I have everything packed that I need to and all that." I stood up with George and gave him a final hug before heading towards the fireplace. "Oh, and can you tell Gin that I have that thing we found in Diagon Alley now?" At his curious nod, I smiled. "Okay. Thanks again for listening. And sorry that I pulled you away from your friend, um, Snuffles was it? I hope I didn't interrupt anything important." I smiled one last time before waving goodbye and Flooing back to my house, missing the way that George furrowed his brow slightly as I was whisked away into the fire.

Once home, I went upstairs and moved my trunk out into my sitting room. I looked over at my bed, contemplating sleep, but I knew it would be awhile until sleep would claim me. Instead I laid across my bed with a pad of paper and a pencil in front of me, letting my emotions fly across the paper into a sketch of the boy who I could not get off my mind.

_**

* * *

**_

I shook my head, bringing myself back to Tuesday morning. I had begun to wonder if maybe I should have just agreed to go to Kings Cross with George and everyone. It certainly would have made things easier on me. I looked out the balcony doors next to my bed, seeing the sun making its way across the sky. I looked over at my night stand, seeing the sketch I had partially completed the night before. Seeing those sparkling eyes staring out of the paper, I smiled slightly before crawling out of bed and into my bathroom to take a shower.

After an extremely hot shower, I wrapped myself in a towel to dry off before grabbing the clothes I had laid out for the day. I slipped on the pair of dark denim shorts and three-quarters length electric blue v-neck. I charmed my hair dry and straight before applying just a tiny bit of mascara, eye shadow, and gloss. I walked out into my bedroom and slipped on my favorite pair of rocket dogs before putting my pjs in my trunk. Tucking my sketch pad into my oversized purse, I hurried down to the kitchen to make myself a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast before, with my wand in one hand, the handle of my trunk in the other and my purse over my left shoulder, I Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.

I stumbled a little bit on the landing, catching myself before I fell into anyone. Sticking my wand into my back pocket, I waved at the bartender before heading out the front door and hailed a cab for Kings Cross. Once there, I paid the man, who even took the time to grab a push cart for my trunk, and went off in search of Platform 9¾.

Which turned out to be easier said than done. I reached Platform 9, not expecting the next Platform to be 10. I stopped in my tracks, looking up at the signs and chewing on my bottom lip. There was no Platform 9¾. How can a train leave from a Platform that does not even exist? I looked around, hoping that maybe the Weasleys had not gotten here yet. I looked up at the clock on the side of the station and saw that it was almost 10:30. Only half an hour until the train left.

I was just starting to freak out when I heard someone shout my name. I looked around, my eyes finally spotting Angelina, Alicia, and Brit coming towards me from across the station. Brit was wearing a Beatles 'Let It Be' t-shirt with ripped up jeans, while Angelina and Alicia were wearing almost identical outfits of v-neck t-shirts, grey zip up hoodies, and jeans, though Angelina's shirt was yellow and Alicia's orange. When they reached me, I was enveloped in a giant hug from all of them.

"How was the rest of your break?" Angelina asked,

"It was okay. It definitely could have been better," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Oh, did you call that gorgeous bartender?" Brit questioned, excitement sparkling in her eyes.

"No, I decided that it would be unfair to him. But maybe over winter break I'll drop by and see if we can make anything work," I shrugged off, not really caring one way or the other.

"That's if you aren't snatched up once term begins," Angelina smirked.

"Yeah, sure Angelina. That is definitely going to happen," I drawled, sarcasm practically dripping off the words.

"You never know. Anything can happen at Hogwarts. And I mean anything," Brit added.

"Well, we should probably get onto the Platform. Don't want to miss the train for our final year," Alicia said, looking up at the clock on the wall. At that, the three girls grabbed their trunks and started to move.

"Wait, what are you talking about? There isn't a Platform 9¾, only a platform 9 and 10." I shot each of them a questioning look.

"No one told you how to get on the Platform?" Alicia asked, surprise leaking through her words. I shook my head. "Wow. Okay. I would have though Fred and George would have told you. It's really not that hard. Just watch me and Angelina." With that, Alicia and Angelina took off, heading straight for the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. It happened so fast that I didn't even have a chance to blink before they both disappeared into the wall.

I looked around, surprised that none of the Muggles said anything, but everyone around Brit and I just kept going about their own business. I turned back to Brit, who was just smiling at me.

"Shocking how blind they can be, isn't it? I personally like to believe that they actually do see it, but talk themselves into believing it was a hallucination or trick of the light." A slight smile passed over Brit's face. "We should probably get going. Just don't be afraid about hitting the wall. Because then you actually might. See you on the other side." Brit smirked at me before passing through onto the Platform herself.

I took a deep breath before I started walking towards the Platform, trying not to think about hitting it, which only caused me to think about it more. I closed my eyes just as I was about a yard away, expecting to hit the wall, already cringing in pain, only to feel a slight magical tingling and then nothing.

I opened my eyes to see a large, gleaming red train, with around a hundred people milling about on the Platform. I looked around to find Angelina, Alicia, and Brit, but couldn't see them anywhere. _So much for waiting for me_. Figuring they were already on the train, I made my way through the crowd until I got to one of the doors onto the train.

I was trying to get my trunk up into the train, which was very difficult considering how heavy it was, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Letting my trunk fall to the Platform with a thud, I pushed my hair out of my face and turned around, startled when I saw the grey eyed boy from Diagon Alley standing there. And he was dressed in pretty much the clothes as before; he had just taken off the jacket and was wearing a white shirt instead of a black one.

"Yes?" I asked, looking up at his face. He really did have gorgeous eyes.

"It looked like you might need some help. May I?" The mystery boy gestured towards my trunk.

"Oh. Yes, thank you. I didn't realize how heavy it was going to be when I packed it," I added as the boy heaved my trunk into the train.

"It's no problem. Always willing to help a beautiful lady out." He flashed me a dazzling smile before holding out his hand. "I'm Adrian Pucey."

"Nice to meet you," I said, gently shaking his hand. "I'm Angie Westermann."

"Now that's a name that I haven't heard before. What house are you in?"

"I'm not in one yet. I just transferred from the States for my seventh year."

"Ah. Then hopefully we will be in a couple classes together, Angie. Maybe even in the same house," Adrian smiled, letting my hand drop.

"That depends," I said, a smile pulling on my lips. "What house are you in?"

He just smirked down at me. "Find me on the train later and you'll find out. Ciao, bello." And with that he turned and walked off into the crowd still mulling about on the Platform.

I turned around, hopping onto the train, my mind caught up on Adrian. I grabbed the handle of my trunk and started dragging it down the hallway. Adrian seemed like a really sweet guy, only he was hanging out with those idiots in Diagon Alley. And Gin said that he was probably in Slytherin, which probably wouldn't work out to well if I wound up in Gryffindor. But how likely was it that every single person in Slytherin is evil?

And Adrian seemed nothing like that Malfoy brat who had insulted Ginny. Still, I made a mental note to be wary of him, just in case.

I continued down the hallway, looking in the cabin windows for a sign of Ginny, the twins, or Angelina, Alicia, and Brit. I was in the second train car when I found Ginny.

She was sitting in a cabin with her brother Ron, and four other people I didn't recognize. I was about to just pass, seeing that the cabin was full, when I saw Ginny waving her hand for me to come in. She was wearing a pale green sweater and jeans. The brown haired girl had on a similar outfit, just with a deep purple sweater instead. The other girl was really unique. She was wearing a short floral printed skirt with rainbow striped leggings, a bright pink t-shirt and an orange and yellow polka-dot cardigan. She also had what looked like radishes hanging from her ears, a collection of corks as a necklace, and was reading a magazine upside, which lead me to believe that she might be a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket. The boys all looked the same, with t-shirts, jackets and jeans. The boy right next to me, though, seemed to be in a bit of a shabby condition, almost like his clothes really didn't fit him at all.

"Hey Gin," I said as I slid the door open, leaning against the frame.

"I was worried you wouldn't get here in time. George told me that you visited last night. I wish I had known, I would have been there myself. But we can talk about that later," Ginny added with a smile.

"I'll catch you up on it later tonight. But I should probably get going. I didn't mean to interrupt," I apologized, edging out of the door slowly.

"Oh, don't go yet. Here, let me introduce you to my friends," Ginny smiled, her hands flying. "Angie, this is Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, you know my brother, and this is Harry Potter," she stated as she pointed to each person. "Everyone, this is Angie Westermann, the girl I've been telling you about."

I had started nodding hellos to everyone, excluding Ron who was steadily avoiding me by looking out the window he was sitting next to, when I heard Harry Potter's name. I stopped for a moment, unable to believe that I was meeting the Boy-Who-Lived. It seemed unreal.

"As in 'the' Harry Potter?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's him. Do you have a problem with that?" Ron sneered at me, whipping his head away from the window.

"I was just curious. The newspaper at home always does a special article about him on Halloween, almost like a tribute to him and his parents. I've always been a bit curious as to what he would be like in person," I answered, a tad bit defensive.

"Yeah, like it has absolutely nothing to do with the Daily Prophet making him out to be a loony." Ginny smacked him across the head. "Bloody hell! What was that for?" Ron yelled, holding the back of his head.

"For being a prat! Angie's been here for what? A week? Do you really think she's had time to order the Daily Prophet or even know what it is? She couldn't possibly be interested in Harry simply because he destroyed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when he was a baby? Merlin Ron, you can be so incredibly thick sometimes," Ginny screeched at him.

"So yeah," Harry said, breaking the heavy silence that had filled the room. He turned out to be the boy that was sitting right next to me, the one wearing the shabby clothes. "I'm that Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you Angie. Did you maybe want to join us? I'm sure we can make room."

"I would but I really need to go find some people. You guys wouldn't happen to know where Fred and George are? Or even Angelina, Alicia, Chelsea, and Brittany?" When everyone, meaning everyone except Ron, shook their heads no, I sighed. "Okay then, I guess I'll just head down the train and see if I can find them. I'll catch up with you later Ginny. It was really nice meeting you all. Except you again Ron. It's been terrible seeing you again, though thankfully you have your clothes on this time." As the cabin burst into surprised laughter, with Ron turning a violent shade of maroon, I gave one more wave before leaving the cabin and headed back down the hallway.

I had just managed to get into the next train car when the train jolted forward, signaling that it must be 11. However, it also caused me to go flying forward, falling into a guy and knocking him to the ground, with myself on top of him. The group he had been standing with started laughing hysterically as I tried to get up as quick as I could.

"Are you okay? I am so so so so sorry!" I apologized as I got to my feet and tried to help the guy to his.

"I'm fine, Angie. Really. But it is nice to see you again, even though you tried to crush me. But does that mean that you are crushing on me?" the guy replied. I froze, wondering how this guy knew my name when I looked down at his face and realized that it was Lee Jordan.

I started laughing as I helped him to his feet and pulled him into a hug. "Hey, Lee. You only wish I was crushing on you." I stepped out of the hug quickly when I noticed Katie standing behind him, a death glare being aimed right at me. "Hey Katie." Katie just sent me another glare before grabbing Lee and dragging him with her into one of the cabins. Looking around, I noticed the only people missing from the group were the twins and Chelsea. "Where are Fred and George?"

"Looking for you," answered a voice from behind me. Turning around, I saw Fred and George standing right inside the door to the car.

"Angelina, Alicia, and Brit were worried when they couldn't find you," George added.

"Thought you might have been kidnapped by a bunch of Slytherins," Fred commented.

"Especially after we saw Pucey talking to you." The twins shuddered.

"WHAT?" Angelina screamed. "You didn't tell us that!"

"Why were you talking to him?" Alicia questioned, shock clear on her face.

"Pucey? Do you mean Adrian? Yeah I talked to him. He helped me get my trunk on the train. It was a bit too heavy for me to manage on my own. He just put my trunk on the train, introduced himself, and left. End of story. I didn't drag him behind the train for a quick bang or anything," I explained, not seeing what all the fuss was about. "And besides, it's not like I ran away from you guys after I got onto the platform. You just weren't there."

"A bang?" Fred queried.

"Please, do explain further," George continued, a glint entering his eye.

"It sounds quite fascinating."

"I think you mean thoroughly enjoyable, Gred."

Angelina rolled her eyes and smacked George in the stomach. "Shove it George, this is serious. Angie, he's in Slytherin," she said, turning towards me.

"Which means he's pure evil," I heard the twins mutter.

"I doubt everyone in Slytherin is evil. There have to be a few normal people in the house," I reasoned.

"Guys, it's not that big of a deal-," Brit began.

"Not that big of a deal?" George choked out.

"Are you mental?" Fred asked.

"We're talking about Slytherins here-"

"Not innocent little flobberworms."

"Might as well have walked straight up to Snape-"

"And ask if you could wash his hair."

"Shut it. Both of you," Brittany said, fire flashing in her chocolate eyes, causing the twins to fall silent. "And what the bloody hell do Snape and flobberworms have to do with this? You know what, I really don't want to know," she shook her head before turning to me. "Anyway, like I was saying. It's not that big of a deal, but just fair warning. If you do get sorted into Gryffindor, Pucey will either never talk to you again or be a complete prick whenever he does. Gryffindors and Slytherins just do not get along," she finished, giving my hands a squeeze. "Now why don't we all go and sit down. The Slytherins should be starting their rounds soon. Don't want to make it any easier on them to find us."

I turned to grab my trunk, only to see Fred and George had it taken care of. I instead followed Brit into the cabin that Katie and Lee had disappeared into earlier. I sat down between Brit and Angelina, with Alicia on Angelina's other side. Across from us were Katie, Lee, Fred, and George, after the twins had shoved my trunk into the luggage rack above the seats. As soon as the twins sat down, Lee struck up a conversation with them about something; I really didn't care enough to listen in. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie started talking about the upcoming Quidditch tryouts, which I would have loved to find out more about, except that I was worried Katie would rip my head off if I joined the discussion. She was still glaring at me every chance she could. I had finally stopped looking over there when I realized that someone from the group was still missing.

"Brit?" I asked, causing her to look up from the book that she had been reading. "Why isn't Chelsea here?"

"Oh, I guess no one told you. She got an offer to spend the first part of term at Durmstrang, since she is going into International Magical Cooperation. Both our Ministry and the one there thought it would be a very enlightening experience for her. Depending on how it goes, she might even be finishing up the year there. She is really excited, especially because now she gets to spend all of her free time with Sean. I think that might have been part of the deciding factor for her," Brit explained with a smile.

"Oh. That sounds really interesting." I sat back in my seat. "So, is this what happens every year on the way to Hogwarts?"

"You mean, is it always this boring?" At my nod, Brit laughed quietly. "Not always. The boys are probably going to head off in a little bit to harass the Slytherins and catch up with some other people they know. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie will probably spend the entire time talking about either Quidditch or clothing. Chels and I normally just sat here and either talked about how our summers went or read," Brit finished with a shrug.

"Sounds like fun. I wish I had thought to put a book in my purse, but I had no clue that the ride would be very long," I sighed. I didn't want to risk pulling out my sketch pad, in case someone recognized the sketch that I had begun last night.

"Oh yeah. We get to Hogwarts in time to have the welcoming feast at sun down. But a trolley comes around offering different snacks and sweets since you are sure to get hungry. But if you want, I have another book in my bag. I'm a big Muggle author fan and John just bought these for me for my birthday. They are by Jane Austen. I just started _Sense and Sensibility_ but I have _Pride and Prejudice_ here if you want," Brit said, offering me the book she had just pulled from her bag.

"Really? I have wanted to read this for a while now. I'm a huge Jane Austen fan," I said, flipping the book open.

"I'm glad. I would hate for us to try to fill the ride with awkward conversations about nothing in particular," Brit replied, smiling as she went back to her book.

Brit and I spent the next couple of hours reading in companionable silence. I noticed the boys leave at one point, which was also when Alicia and Angelina went and joined Katie on the other side of the cabin. It must have been around 2pm when the door to the cabin opened to reveal the woman running the food cart. Brit and I dragged ourselves out of our books enough to buy some food, a few chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, and licorice wands apiece.

Brit and I sat back down and I just getting back into my book when there was a knock on the door. Looking up, I saw the door slide open and reveal Adrian standing in the doorway. His mouth was set in a scowl until he saw me, a slow smirk appearing in its place. Brit didn't appear to have noticed his appearance but the same couldn't be said for Angelina, Alicia, and Katie. All three of them were on their feet, wands drawn, as soon as Adrian appeared.

"What are you doing here Pucey?" Angelina spat, raising her wand towards Adrian's chest.

"I don't see how that concerns you Johnson," Adrian replied, calmly, but with a hint of an edge to his voice. He simply crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame.

"It obviously does because you are in a Gryffindor cabin. Or did you get lost trying to find your way back to the snake pit you crawled out of?" Alicia sneered.

"Enough guys," I interjected, standing up and moving between the four of them. "Just calm down." I turned to look at Adrian. "Was there something you wanted Adrian?"

He smirked down at me. "Yeah. Did you want to take a walk around the train with me? It must be awfully dull just sitting in here with this lot," he drawled, causing a gasp of anger to come from behind me.

"I was actually doing just fine, seeing as these are my friends. But a walk would be nice. My legs were starting to fall asleep on me," I replied, before turning to face Angelina and Alicia, seeing as Katie had already gone back to ignoring my existence. "I'll be back in a little bit." At their mutters of snakes and evil I interrupted, "I'm going to be fine. Don't worry; I can take care of myself."

"Have fun Angie. We'll talk when you get back," Brit called out as I was stepping out of the cabin, not even looking up from her book.

Once I was out in the corridor with Adrian I turned to face him.

"So, where to?"

There was that smirk again. "Come with me." He took my hand in his, shocking me with how soft his hands were. He led me down the corridor, weaving between people, heading towards the back of the train. Out of that car, into the next, down to the last cabin on the left and we finally reached our destination. He slid the door open for me and motioned for me to enter first.

The cabin was completely empty except for Adrian and myself. It suddenly struck me that I could have just walked into a trap when Adrian sat down on one of the benches and pulled on my hand until I sat down next to him.

"So I thought that maybe we could just talk and get to know each other a little better," he said, turning to face me more. I stilled for a second, before relaxing, realizing that his intentions were completely innocent.

"Okay. What did you have in mind?"

We talked for what seemed like days, just about trivial things, like favourite colors, past pets, worst date ever. Just anything that came to mind but nothing that was really important. It was like chatting with an old friend that I just met up with after years apart. It just felt right.

"So, you said you came here from America. Where specifically did you come from over there?" Adrian asked, leaning against the end of the bench seat near the door. I was leaning against the opposite end, with my feet kicked up on his lap, the window at my back.

"Well, I was born and raised in California, more specifically Santa Barbara. It's a city that is right on the coastline, so I grew up in a house that butted up against the ocean. It was amazing, watching the sun sink in the evening over the water. Completely breathtaking," I gushed. I felt my eyes light up as I talked about home, making me realize even more how much I missed it.

"Sounds like it would be," Adrian agreed, never taking his eyes off of me.

"Where did you grow up?" I asked, taking the topic off of me before the thought of home could really get to me.

"My parents are from Italy, which is where I was born. We moved here, to London, when I was 8, I think, so that I would have a chance to get into Hogwarts."

"You were born in Italy? Wow, I bet that was beautiful."

"Actually, I don't remember it that much. I only remember the little I do because of all the pictures that my parents took. It sometimes feels like I wasn't even there. Almost like I was born sometime when I was 9," Adrian admitted, a frown crossing his face.

"You know, I feel that way sometimes too. Like when I was five, my parents decided to take me to Disney World, this Muggle amusement park, for vacation and I don't remember any of it. I swear, they could have locked me in a closet for my entire childhood and I wouldn't know any difference."

Adrian let out a small laugh at this, shaking his head. "I doubt they would have done that. You're parents can't be that bad."

"My dad isn't. He actually likes me. My mom is completely different story. She blames me for everything bad that has ever happened to her."

"Wow. I am truly sorry, Angie. No one should grow up in that sort of environment," Adrian said, reaching for and grabbing one of my hands.

I looked up into his soft grey eyes and saw only concern in those stormy depths. I turned the hand that he had covered up over and gave his hand a tight squeeze.

"So I think it's time for a topic change. What do you want to know about me?" Adrian posed the question, obviously sensing my desire to not talk anymore about it.

I couldn't think of anything, my mind being completely blank, so I just spit out the first thing that came to my mind.

"Why do my friends hate you?"

I felt him stiffen under my legs and immediately regretted asking him. I wanted to take it back, to say anything that would cause the mood shift in the cabin to leave, but my mouth chose that moment to stop working on me.

Finally, after what seemed like a decade, but was most likely in all reality only a couple minutes, Adrian broke the silence.

"I'm a Slytherin. They're Gryffindors. There doesn't have to be any other reason," he answered, but his voice no longer had the same carefree tone to it. It sounded like an end to that conversation and I was happy to leave it behind.

Unfortunately, my mouth was not.

"I know about the inter-house feud already. I just don't understand why it's so bad between those two houses. I haven't heard of anything about the other two." My mouth had taken on a mind of its own and just would not shut up.

Adrian didn't say anything for a while. The awkward silence descended again and I was starting to consider just getting up and leaving when he finally spoke.

"I really don't think that I am the person who should be telling you that."

"But-" I persisted, my stupid mouth not wanting to let it go.

"No," Adrian stated, effectively cutting me off. "Ask one of your friends. Brittany would probably give you the least prejudiced version." I saw him look down at our still joined hands and smile. "If you still want to talk to me, or even be friends with me, if that is what we are now, after you talk to her, I'm just an owl away." He stood up, removing my legs from his lap, before pulling me to my feet also. "I should probably be getting you back now, before your friends send out a search party."

I started to laugh at that, before stopping to shoot him a puzzled look. "Why would they do that? I've only be gone, what, half an hour? An hour at max?"

Adrian just smirked down at me. "You have a really terrible sense of time. Look out the window; we've been here for at least two hours. The sun is even starting to set."

I spun around to the window, dropping the hand that I still held, gasping when I saw what he said was true. "Wow. I don't think that I have ever spent that much time talking to one person before," I smiled, turning back to him.

He had the door open for me, gesturing for me to precede him. I left the cabin and turned to face him, seeing him pull the door shut with a sharp click on his way out.

"So," I said, sticking my hands in my pockets. "I guess this is bye for now."

"So it is." All Adrian did was stare down at me, a look I could not begin to describe crossing his face.

"It was really fun, talking and getting to know you," I volunteered, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of him.

"You should get back to your friends, Angie. They are most likely worrying by now." Still that same look, only now he had taken to resting against the door frame.

"Fine. Goodbye Adrian," I muttered. I turned and walked away from him, not even waiting to hear if he would respond. It was clear to me that he wasn't expecting me to want to see him ever again after I talked to Brit. I had to know now what was going on. It couldn't be as bad as Adrian made it seem. Could it?

I managed to find my way back to my original cabin. As soon as I entered, Angelina and Alicia practically jumped down my throat, throwing question after question at me.

"What took you so long?"

"What happened? Tell us everything!"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"If he did, I swear I will shove his broom so far up his-"

"Stop!" I exclaimed, cutting Angelina off before she could finish what I was sure to be a lovely sentiment. "Everything is fine. We just talked."

"If all you did was talk, then why are your eyes so red?" Alicia asked pointedly.

"What?" I asked, my hand coming up to my eyes, only to feel hints of moisture. "I, uh, I don't know. We kind of left off on a sore note. But everything is fine. Don't worry about it."

"Angie, how can we not worry? We saw you walk away with a Slytherin, were gone for nearly 3 hours, and then you come back with tears in your eyes? We're your friends; if anyone hurts you, we will kick the shite out them," Angelina promised me, grabbing my hands in hers.

I chuckled a bit at that before taking one of my hands from her and wiping at my eyes. "Please don't. At least not yet. He hasn't done anything to me. I just think that all my emotions over the past couple weeks have finally taken hold of me. That's all."

"If you're sure…," Alicia stated, doubt creeping into her voice.

"I am. But just promise me that you won't tell the boys about this. I really don't want them to go after Adrian over nothing," I asked.

"Of course. They will never have to know," Alicia replied.

"Unless he does hurt you. Then we will have to tell the boys so they can hex him within a millimeter of his life," Angelina promised.

"Good." I smiled before sitting down next to Brittany, completely ignoring Katie just like she was completely ignoring me. Angelina and Alicia took that as an end to the conversation and sat down next to Katie and started talking about the Quidditch line-ups for the year.

"So did you have fun?" Brit asked, putting her book down in her lap before looking up at me.

"I did," I said, my smile widening. "I really did." I looked over to see a wide smile claiming her lips.

"I'm glad." At my incredulous look, she let out a low laugh. "I really don't have anything against Pucey. I only don't like the Slytherins that don't like me. But am I going to go out of my way to spend time with them? Hell no. But I see no reason that you shouldn't have a good time with him if you really want to."

"Thank you for being so understanding," I whispered, pulling her into a tight hug. We had just released each other when Fred, George, and Lee came back into the cabin. They had just collapsed onto the benches, Lee next to Katie and Fred and George next to me, when Alicia looked up towards the window.

"Shite. We need to get changed. We should be arriving any moment now," she exclaimed, jumping up and reaching for her trunk.

"Okay boys," Angelina started, standing up to also search through her trunk. "Time to leave."

"Uh. But Ang, we just got back," George whined.

"Yeah. We don't want to move just yet," Fred chimed in.

"But you know-" George added, a glint entering his eyes.

"-We could always stay in here-" Fred continued.

"-While you girls change-"

"-And we promise not to peek."

"We swear," the boys concluded together, wicked smirks on both their faces.

Angelina, Alicia, and Katie all turned to face them, fire practically burning through their eyeballs. I could almost hear the boys audibly gulp before all three jumped up and rushed out of the cabin, sliding the door shut firmly.

The five of us girls changed quickly before Angelina leaned out the cabin door to let the boys back in. They were now somehow in their robes, but I didn't question it. Neither did any of the others.

I returned to my previous spot, with Brittany on my right, next to the door, and the twins on my left. Alicia and Angelina were sitting across from the twins on the other bench while Katie and Lee sat with their heads together. "So, are you excited or nervous?"

I jumped, not expecting the question from Brit. "Nervous. I'm just afraid of what would happen if I get sorted into Slytherin," I whispered, looking up at her. "Would I be able to stay friends with any of you? Will you all turn your backs on me? I don't want to lose the only friends I have just because of a stupid house difference."

"Angie, stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine. Even if you get sorted into Slytherin. I would walk down into those disgusting dungeons everyday to meet you for breakfast, dragging Angelina, Alicia, and the boys with me. I wouldn't leave you to deal with those prats by yourself," Brit promised, giving my hand a squeeze. "And I doubt we have to worry about that. You are way too nice to be in Slytherin. If anything, I think the only house we might even have to worry about you being sorted into is Hufflepuff. And you are way too interesting to ever be sorted into that tosser of a house." Both of us started laughing, even though I had no idea what 'tosser' meant.

It was only a few minutes later that Angelina announced that she could see the castle from the window. Everyone in the cabin started to get their things together for when the train stopped. When it finally did, we all made our way out of the cabin and off the train, with Fred and George in front, moving the younger students out of the way.

I was in the back of the group with Brit when we finally managed to get off the train. I was gawking up at the gorgeous castle in the distance when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw that it was Gin and one of the girls from her compartment, Luna maybe?

"Hey Angie. I just ran into Hagrid, he's the Gameskeeper here. I asked him about you and he said you're supposed to go with him when he takes the first years to the castle. He's the tall man over there with the large beard. Trust me, you can't miss him. Well, I've got to run, but I'll see you at the feast," Gin added before running off with the girl.

"Well, I guess I'll go meet up with this Hagrid then. Bye guys. Wish me luck," I said, waving before I turned around and noticed the very large man with the equally large beard. Bit intimidating to be completely honest. Figuring he had to be Hagrid, I made my way over to him, slowly making my way through the other students. When I got closer, I heard him calling all the first years over to him. I walked right up to him and was about to ask if he was Hagrid when he beat me to it.

"'Ello there. Yeh must be Ms. Westermann, eh?" At my nod, he reached out and took my trunk from me, holding it easily in one hand. "Well, all o' the firs' years be 'ere an now yeh be 'ere too, so everyone follow meh," Hagrid said, before turning and making his way away from the castle.

I was confused at first, thinking we were supposed to be going to the castle, but then I noticed the lake in front of us and the dozen boats on the bank. Hagrid told everyone to split up into boats, with no more than four in each. Hagrid took one all by himself, and I wound up sharing mine with a little red-haired girl who was too scared to say much of anything, except that her name was Jessica.

After everyone was settled into their boats, they took off by themselves across the lake. It was such a gorgeous view of the castle that I almost wish that it had never ended. But it did, and Hagrid left us to make our way into the castle via the long and winding stone staircase up the side of the mountain. I was automatically shoved to the front of the group, since I was oldest, or the tallest, or maybe because they were all scared of having me stand behind them. Leading the first years in, I entered the castle through a large pair of doors at the far end of the courtyard, being greeted by an equally large set across from us, along with a stern looking woman in a set of green tartan robes.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, Professor of Transfiguration and Deputy Headmistress," the woman stated, her eyes skimming over all of us. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. Please follow me."* With that, Professor McGonagall turned and made her way through the doors behind her and into, what I assumed to be, the Great Hall.

The Great Hall really lived up to its name in my opinion. The space was huge, with four different rows of tables for the students to sit at, probably in their houses, and a large faculty table at the front of the Hall. The ceiling was even enchanted to look like the night sky, with thousands of candles floating above the heads of the students and faculty. I saw Brit and everyone else at the table to my far left and sent a little wave in their direction. It wasn't long before Professor McGonagall had us stopped at the front of the Hall, facing a hat that was placed upon a small three-legged stool. The first years fanned out around me, all of us looking at this beaten up old hat.

I chanced a look around and saw that not only were the first years and I looking at it, but everyone in the Great Hall seemed to be staring at the hat, almost as if they expected to start singing and dancing or something. Suddenly, what I thought was a fold in the fabric of the hat opened and the hat actually started to sing.

"In times of old, when I was new,

And Hogwarts barely started,

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted.

United by a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

'Together we will build and teach'

The four good friends decided.

And never did they dream that they

Might someday be divided.

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there, so I can tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry's purest.'

Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest'

Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name.'

Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot

And treat them just the same.'

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light.

For each of the four founders had

A house in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning just like him.

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest

and taught them all she knew,

Thus, the Houses and their founders

Maintained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

for several happy years,

but then discord crept among us

feeding on our faults and fears.

The Houses that, like pillars four

had once held up our school

now turned upon each other and

divided, sought to rule.

And for a while it seemed the school

must meet an early end.

what with dueling and with fighting

and the clash of friend on friend.

And at last there came a morning

when old Slytherin departed

and though the fighting then died out

he left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four

were whittled down to three

have the Houses been united

as they once were meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here

and you all know the score:

I sort you into Houses

because that is what I'm for.

But this year I'll go further,

listen closely to my song:

though condemned I am to split you

still I worry that it's wrong,

though I must fulfill my duty

and must quarter every year

still I wonder whether sorting

may not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

the warning history shows,

for our Hogwarts is in danger

from external, deadly foes

and we must unite inside her

or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you...

let the Sorting now begin."*

I wasn't sure whether to clap or just let my mouth hang open in shock. I had never heard of an actually singing hat before, especially one that handed out words of wisdom and warning. But then everyone else in the Great Hall, besides the first years, started clapping and so the group of us joined in. Once it had calmed down, Professor McGonagall approached the stool and hat with a scroll of parchment.

"I am going to start out the Sorting Ceremony in a special way this term. We have a new student with us who has transferred here for her seventh year. So, will Ms. Angie Westermann please come forward," McGonagall announced to the Hall, picking the hat up off the stool.

I stepped forward and sat down on the stool, as she motioned for me to do. I saw the entire school stare at me before I closed my eyes as she placed the hat on my head. I suddenly heard the same voice that the hat sang in ringing in my head.

"Hmmm, Ms. Westermann. You are a tricky one. Very loyal to your friends I see. A very sharp mind as well. Not to mention more than an ounce of courage, along with a healthy amount of cunning. A perfect match for each of the houses here. Now where to put you?

"Gryffindor would be a strong match, with plenty of challenge for you. You have courage, yes, but do you have enough? You seem to act tough to cover up your insecurities, but how much longer will you be able to keep up that appearance?

"Yet, Slytherin would also challenge you, force you to choose between doing what you want and what others want for you. You have to cunning to succeed there, but do you have the mind set to look out for yourself before all others, like true Slytherins?

"Ravenclaw is another good choice. Full of knowledge, with other students similar to you. It would test your brain, letting you reach for your greatest potential in that effect, but could it possibly be too tame for a free spirit like yourself?

"And what about Hufflepuff? Loyalty is one of the foundations of that house and it seems to be a major part of you as well. You could possibly bring Hufflepuff out of the slump it seems to have fallen into, bring it some honour. Or would that be too much to place on your shoulders? Or would you even want to take up that mantle?

"I can also see that you have already made quite a few friends, surprisingly all from the same house. That has to factor in for something. Or does it? Speaking of which, they have been waiting long enough. Time to let them know that you are going into GRYFFINDOR!" The hat screamed out the last word and my eyes opened to see the Gryffindor tables going wild. With a smile on my face, I handed the hat back to Professor McGonagall and made my way to my group of friends.

I was snatched up in a hug by Brit, Angelina, and Alicia as soon as I got back to their, I mean our, table. As soon as they let me go, Fred and George both ruffled my hair before making me the cheese in a Weasley sandwich and welcomed me to the house before all of us sat down. I was still smiling, realizing that I wouldn't have to give up any of the friends that I had made just because of a stupid hat.

I then looked up and saw that across the Great Hall, at what appeared to be the Slytherin table, Adrian was just staring at me, a sad smile apparent on his face.

_**

* * *

**_

The feast was delicious. I had never had so much variety to choose from for a single meal. I also doubt that I had ever eaten so much. When I had finally finished with my third helping of treacle tart for dessert, I felt like I was going to explode.

Professor Dumbledore had gotten up before the feast to introduce a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. She looked like a frilly pink toad and I could tell that she would not be one of my favorite Professors. And really, once you reach a certain age, baby pink is just not acceptable to wear for any reason.

After the feast was over and Dumbledore had sent us all to bed, Angelina, Alicia, and Brit showed me a little bit of the castle before showing me where the common room was. I don't know why, but some evil, evil person decided that our common room was going to be on the seventh floor. I was definitely not looking forward to all those stairs, even if some of them moved for me. I really didn't care at that point how cool it was that we had an entire tower to ourselves; it mattered more the numerous flights of stairs up there just so I could relax after class. Why couldn't we have had a common room on the main floor?

When we finally got to the seventh floor, there was a portrait guarding the common room, who Brit told me was lovingly referred to as the 'Fat Lady'. I was just curious if she knew about the nickname or not. I know if anyone called me 'Fat Lady', I wouldn't even think twice about smacking the person upside their head. But who knows? Maybe the British like to be called 'fat'. Highly unlikely, but maybe.

Once inside the common room, Angelina and Alicia collapsed on one of the couches by the fireplace while Brit showed me up to the seventh year girl's dorm. Which also turned out to be at the very top of the tower, which meant even more stairs. I was so beyond thrilled. Except not at all.

It was in one of the turrets of the castle, since the room was circular. There were five beds spaced around the room, along with a door off to the side that Brit told me was to the wash room, which I assumed meant bathroom. I noticed my trunk in front of the bed straight across from the door. I saw Brit out of the corner of my eye go to the bed on the right side of the door, most likely hers, while I went to my trunk and pulled out my sweatpants. The robes that I was wearing were getting uncomfortably hot to me and curling up next to a fire in my sweats just sounded like heaven. Once I was changed, I saw that Brit had had the same idea as me and was also in a pair of maroon sweats with a lion design on the left leg.

"John got them for me on my birthday. He knows how much lions mean to me and thought that they would be perfect," Brit explained, a grin shining in her eyes.

We made our way back downstairs to the common room, where we saw that the twins had joined Angelina and Alicia in front of the fire. No one else was in sight, having obviously gone to bed after the long train ride and ginormous feast. Alicia had moved so that George and Angelina could have a couch to themselves, leaving Fred in one of the armchairs and Alicia on the other couch. Brittany claimed the spot next to Alicia while I curled up in the other armchair, which happened to be right next to Fred.

"So, how does it feel to be a Gryffindor?" Fred asked, leaning towards me.

"Not that different. But then again, it's been a long day. Everything will probably hit me when I wake up tomorrow morning," I yawned, letting my head rest on the back of the chair.

"It'll get better tomorrow. The first day is always easy. And besides," Fred added with a smirk. "As seventh years, we have more free periods than actually classes."

"I'm actually really looking forward to those," I murmured, my eyes taking longer and longer to blink.

"You look a bit tired, Angie. Maybe you should head up to bed," Alicia chimed in. I turned my head to look over at her, seeing that all the girls were heading to the stairs. "All of us are heading up now, too. It's been a long night."

"I'll be up in a little bit Alicia," I promised, letting my head fall back against the chair, staring into the fireplace. The girls made their way upstairs, leaving me alone with the twins.

I knew that I should head upstairs, since I could feel myself drifting off, but I just couldn't get myself to move. Suddenly, I heard two identical loud yawns. Dragging my eyes away from the fire, I saw both the twins with huge smiles on their faces.

"I think I'm going to head up bed," George announced, yawning again. "You coming, Fred?"

"Not yet. I'm going to wait to make sure Angie goes up first," Fred replied with a grin. "Don't want our new girl running off on us." The boys shared a quiet laugh while I tried to get up the energy to yell at them.

"Shut it you two," wound up being all that I could get out, which only made them laugh more. George made his way up the boys staircase, leaving me and Fred alone in the common room.

I don't recall how long we sat there in silence, but it was long enough for the fire in the hearth to die down and the room to become quiet chilly. After I had shivered for what was probably the hundredth time, I heard Fred let out a sigh. I heard him get up from his chair and suddenly his bright blue eyes were right in front of me.

"Angie, why don't you just head up to bed? You are obviously freezing down here," he asked, grabbing my hands in his and trying to warm them up.

"Don't want to," I replied, cringing when I heard the slight pout to my voice. "I like it down here." I saw him sigh again.

"Fine, but you are moving over to the couch with me and we are curling up under a cover," Fred declared, leaving no room for discussion. Before I had even tried to get up, Fred scooped me up in his arms, bringing me over to the couch with him. He sat down, leaning back against the armrest and the couch back, settling me down in between his legs, with my head leaning against his chest. If I had been more awake, I probably would not have been in that position with him, let alone any other guy, but I was tired, and he was really warm. And he also smelled like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for some reason, which pretty much turned my brain to jelly.

I felt his chest heave in silent laughter and realized that I had said that last bit out loud.

"Shit," I muttered, burying my head against his chest.

"Don't worry about it, Angie. I don't mind." I could almost hear the smile in his voice. As he pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over us, I relaxed against him, a smile on my face, and let myself be pulled off to sleep.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_

_**I am so beyond sorry that it has been so long. I can honestly say that I lost inspiration for this story. I have it back now, so hopefully I will be able to get some more chapters up in the next couple months. **_

_**I really want to thank my two closest friends, Sjxlawson and CrimsonMoon7, so every single piece of criticism and advice, and even the occasional knock over the head, when it came to creating this chapter. They hung in there with me through all 6 versions of this chapter, until I finally found one that fit.**_

_**I also want to thank all of the readers who are still reading this story/receiving notifications. I love that you guys have seen something that you liked so far in my story that you want more. **_

_**Also, please review. I don't care if all you write is 'nice chapter' or 'update soon!'. Just seeing those emails in my inbox cause me go to whatever chapter I am working on and work even harder to finish it. Also, tell me what you don't like about the story. I want to know so that I can the problems that are there. **_

_**Love always,**_

_**~Clumsy~  
**_


	9. Chapter 9: The Way We Talk

**_Author's Note: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise. But Merlin knows that I wish I did._**

**_Please enjoy the following chapter. I know it is much shorter than my normal ones, but you will see why at the end.  
_**

* * *

I woke up the next morning, around 6am, all alone on the couch in the common room. Feeling slightly disappointed, for Merlin knows what reason, I got up and trudged upstairs to my room to change for classes.

After pulling on my uniform as quietly as possible so as not to wake the other girls, I crept back down to the common room and out into the castle, prepared to do a bit of exploring before everyone woke up and breakfast began.

The moving staircases were definitely something that I was going to have to get used to. They seemed to know that I was new and thought it would be funny to start moving to a different place whenever I was on them. I had no clue where I was most of the time, but when I reached the Great Hall, by some miracle it was only 7am and only a few people from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were eating.

I sat down towards the middle of the table and started putting random food on my plate, but only those things that I could actually recognize and name. It would be just my luck to take a big bite out of what I thought was a sausage but was actually a sheep's bladder.

I was probably only there for 10 minutes when a gigantic hoard of people came pouring into the Great Hall, the noise almost deafening compared to the silence only seconds before. I looked up and saw that Angelina, Alicia, and Brittany were all headed towards me, followed by Fred and George. I couldn't see Lee and Katie anywhere, but then again, they were probably making out somewhere. Which made me want to gag. Lee was such a nice guy, he deserves so much better than that bitch.

While I was lost in thought, the group sat down around me and started filling their plates. I noticed Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione sit down a bench away from us and waved to Ginny, who gave me a small smile back. Turning back to my group, I saw that everyone had started digging into their meals. We all sat in relative silence, especially Fred and George. It seemed like everyone was exhausted that morning, which only caused the next moment to be that much worse.

"Attention students! I need your undivided attention please!" rang out around the Great Hall. I looked up and saw that Dumbledore was standing at the front of the room, practically radiating fear.

"I am in the unfortunate position to tell you that Lord Voldemort has made his next move. He somehow managed to break into the castle over summer holiday and placed a Killing Curse explosive somewhere. I just found out not even 5 minutes ago, and it is already too late to evacuate. Anti-apparition wards were placed on the grounds, without my knowledge, sometime late last night after everyone was in the castle. We only have mere moments left. Please remain calm and make the most of these moments," Dumbledore finished on a quiver.

The Great Hall broke out into complete madness. I looked up to see Angelina and George in a passionate embrace, Alicia and Brittany crying on each other, and Fred just staring at me, a single tear slipping from his eye. I stood up, crawled across the table, not even caring about the food that I was getting all over myself, and jumped off to stand next to him.

Without a word, I reached my hand up and wiped the tear from his eye, surprised when he moved his cheek into my hand. I stroked his cheek once before I slowly raised myself onto my toes and tenderly pressed my lips into his.

Fred stilled at first, obviously shocked, before responding with a fierceness that I had never felt before. He nudged my lips with his tongue until I opened them, allowing him to fully explore my mouth. It felt like hours, but was probably only a minute. I tore myself away, looking up into his beautiful blue eyes for probably the last time.

"Fred, I think I was falling in love with you," I whispered, tears leaking from my eyes.

"I had already fallen for you, Angie. I just wish that we had had more time." The sadness in his eyes broke my heart. I was about to respond when a brilliant green light flashed all around.

The last thing that I remembered think was that I would never see the love of my life again.

The End

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**_Author's Note:__ Okay, so as I hope that most of you guessed, this was an April Fools joke. This is not the way that the story is ending. How could I do that to you? All of that build up just to have everyone killed off the day after they reach Hogwarts? No way. But don't worry. I am currently working on the actual Chapter 9 and it should be up very soon. _**

**___Once again, this was a joke, the story is not over, and a new chapter will be up soon._**

**___~Clumsy21~  
_**


	10. Chapter 10: Bring It

**Author's Note:**** I'm not going to take much of your time. Thank you for coming back to this story after my almost 2 year long hiatus. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter, or the Weasley Twins, or Hogwarts, or anything else like that. I only like to take JKR's amazing characters out and play with them.**

* * *

The wind was whipping through my hair as I dove after the Quaffle, the opposing Chaser flying right towards me. I grabbed the Quaffle at the last second before pulling up out of my dive, the other Chaser soaring clear beneath me. Whipping my head around, I saw the colored robes of my teammate near the opposing team's goals. I chucked the Quaffle as hard as I could, ecstatic when I saw it sail into my teammate's hands. A second later, the Quaffle soared through the goal. I started flying towards my teammate, grinning from ear to ear, expecting to hear wild cheers. Only, the noise that reached my ears was, surprisingly enough, laughter.

I opened my eyes, seeing the empty fireplace in front of me. Only then did I realize that the entire game was a dream. Just as I was about to cuddle down into my pillow and fall back asleep, I heard that quiet laughter again. Scowling, I lifted my head up and looked towards where I heard the offending noise. Standing at the end of the couch was a group of young girls, each probably no older than 13, all with ridiculous smiles on their faces.

"What the hell are you giggling at?" I hissed, not to happy about being woken up by whatever stupid joke one of them was telling.

Seeing me glare at them, the four girls jumped and scurried out of the room. I smiled a bit to myself before turning back to my pillow. Only then did I realize that my 'pillow' was actually a person. I raised my gaze slowly, slightly relieved when I saw the shaggy red hair of one of the twins. When said twin let out a monstrous snore, I let out a little yelp of surprise and accidently rolled off the couch, landing on the floor. I looked up at him, relieved to see that he was still asleep.

I picked up the blanket that had fallen off the couch with me and was about to stand up when I heard more laughter. I turned my head, expecting to see those stupid girls again, only to find the other twin smirking down at me from the foot of the boy's staircase.

"Have a fun night, Angie?" the twin asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Um, not really," I shrugged, trying to figure out which twin he was. "I don't really prefer sharing a couch with someone while I'm trying to sleep."

The boy let out a quiet laugh before walking closer. "How did you talk him into sleeping down here? He hates sleeping on anything but a nice, comfy bed."

It seemed to me like this twin was purposefully not saying names just to mess with me. "To tell you the truth, I don't really know. Last thing I clearly remember is curling up in a chair down here," I laughed. "I guess I was really tired. I normally don't fall asleep on a couch with a boy I barely know and not even remember it."

The twin crouched next to me quirked his eyebrow. "You can't tell which one I am, can you?" I stilled, which wound up giving him his answer. A giant smile spread across his face. "You can only tell us apart when we're standing next to each other. That's why you haven't said my name yet."He just kept grinning at me, obviously pleased at his discovery.

"Don't you have anything better to do than hassle me right now?" I questioned, changing the subject as quickly as possible. "What time is it anyway?"

"It's a little after 7 in the morning," he replied, smirk still in place. "And what's with the stalling tactics, Angie? Just say my name." Laughter was practically leaking out of his eyes.

"7, you say?" I queried, ignoring his request and standing up. "In that case, I should probably head up to my room and get changed. Don't want everyone here to think I'm some floozy who sleeps with a guy in the common room on the first night of the school year." I turned to leave when the awake twin grabbed my arm.

"Wait a second Angie. No one is going to think you're a floozy. Just that you were seduced by the second most attractive boy in Hogwarts," the boy said with a smirk. "Besides, I don't think that Georgie here would mind," he added, gesturing toward his twin.

"I spent the night with George!?" I shrieked, clapping my hands over my mouth as soon as the words were out. "Oh Merlin! Angelina is going to kill me! What am I going to do!?" I dropped onto the couch, forgetting that George was sleeping there, and woke him up with a jolt.

"What the fuck?" George murmured, rubbing his face with his hands. Looking over his shoulder at me, he gave me a crooked smile. "Nice to see you're awake. But did you have to wake me up with your screaming and falling on me?"

"Really, George? Really? Do you honestly think this is the time to be making jokes? Think of what is going to happen!" I stood up and started pacing, completely missing the look that passed between the boys. "Angelina could have walked down here on us! She would have been furious! And even though she didn't, I have no doubt that someone else who saw us is going to tell her what happened! Sweet Merlin, what the bloody hell was I thinking last night?!"

I was pulled out of my rant when the twins couldn't contain their laughter anymore. Both of them even had tears streaming down their faces.

"What is so fucking hilarious about this situation?" I hissed, hands on my hips, fixing them with a glare.

"Angie," the twin I had spent the night with choked out. "I'm not George. I'm Fred. You didn't want to go upstairs last night so I stayed down here with you."

"And I, George, was upstairs. So no reason for Angelina to be mad at you," George piped in, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Or for Angelina to hex the balls off of Georgie here," Fred added.

I stood there, still glaring at both boys. I could now tell that they were telling the truth and that Fred really was the one on the couch. Even so, I was a little miffed at George for pulling that on me. I seriously almost had a heart attack.

"You both are right bastards, you know that? And you know what else? I hate you both so much right now," I bit out, a smile trying to force its way onto my face. Without waiting for them to respond, I whirled around and raced up the stairs to the girl's dormitory to change before breakfast. And to hopefully keep them from seeing the smile that broke out across my face. I was still mad at them, but that was a pretty good prank that they had pulled.

Fred and George sat in shocked silence once they heard the dormitory door slam.

"Do you think she's really mad at us?" George asked, still staring at the place where Angie had previously stood.

"Not at me mate. I wasn't the one who made her think she'd slept with one of us," Fred replied before standing up. "Don't forget to hang up those signs. We need all the test subjects we can get," he added while climbing the stairs up to the boy's dormitory, a small smirk playing on his face. He wasn't about to tell his brother that he had seen Angie smile while running up to her room. He could not wait to see how she paid George back for his little prank. Hopefully it would be good.

* * *

Angelina, Alicia, and Brittany were still asleep when I got up to the room. I crept over to my trunk, grabbing a towel, shampoo, conditioner, and soap, before picking up my new uniform from the chair next to my bed. Making my way into the bathroom, I was not shocked to see that it was equally as gorgeous as the rest of the castle. There were five very roomy showers at the far end of the room, each with frosted glass walls. Toilets were off to the left with sinks to the right. Placing my uniform on one of the plush red velvet couches in the middle of the room, I made my way to one of the shower stalls, quickly stripping before turning on the water.

After taking probably the fastest shower of my life, I climbed out of the stall, toweling myself off, and dressed in the not quite knee length grey skirt, plain white button up, red and gold striped tie, and black cardigan. With a flick of my wand, my hair was dry and hanging in messy waves down my back. Leaving my shower things in the stall, I picked up my pajamas and made my way back into the room. Angelina and Alicia were already dressed and finishing up their hair and make-up while Brittany was pulling on her shoes and cardigan.

"How did you sleep last night, Angie?" Brittany queried, standing up and smoothing out her skirt.

I felt a smirk pulling at my lips. "It was pretty good. Can't really complain." I had to bury my head in my trunk to keep from laughing, while also searching for my shoes. Coming up for air with a simple pair of black flats, I stood up and slipped them on, noticing that the other girls were ready.

"Ready for your first day?" Angelina asked with a smile, looping her arm through mine and heading out the door.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Trying to keep me from running away?" I asked with a laugh.

Angelina just laughed. "Just don't want the wolves to get to you yet."

"Oh, come on. I doubt it's that bad." I looked around once we were in the common room. Everyone was mostly catching up with friends. Hermione, Harry, and the pasty one were standing around a bulletin board, though Hermione looked particularly mad. However, there was one group of boys standing on the far side of the room next to the windows that caught my attention. One of them, he was very tall with dirty blonde hair, had his eyes locked on me, a glimmer there that was more than a little unsettling. Barely able to keep a shiver of revulsion down, I followed Angelina out of the common room, followed by Brittany and Alicia. I don't know what it was about that boy, but something was not right.

"Where is Katie?" I asked, suddenly realizing that the girl was nowhere to be seen. Not that I minded all that much, but it just seemed strange.

"Oh, she's probably still asleep. She almost never makes it to breakfast on time on the first morning of classes," Alicia piped in from behind me.

"Or even most Monday mornings," Angelina whispered to me. I was able to keep my snort of laughter down, but just barely.

When we got to the many moving staircases, all I could say was that I was glad I didn't have a weak stomach. Otherwise, I don't think that getting around the castle would have been all that easy. Still, I didn't appreciate all of the sudden movements of the staircases, jolting when starting to move and sudden stops that almost had me falling on my face.

"I forgot to ask earlier. What classes are you taking this term Angie?" Brittany asked, stealing my attention away from the nausea-inducing stairs.

"I got a letter over the summer that basically told me I could take anything I wanted to, and that I was already signed up for Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Potions. I really don't want to take anything else, so I'll probably just stick with those."

Brittany let out a chuckle. "So you're going for the Auror track?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The Auror track," she repeated. "Those are the NEWTS that you need to take to be considered for a job as an Auror once you graduate. I figured it was the same over in America."

"Oh. Well, not really," I replied. "At AIM, you have to take all classes all seven years. So even though you only needed NEWTS in Charms, Defense, Transfiguration, and Potions, you still have to take all the other classes too. And you need to have at least 'Exceeds Expectations' on all of your exams if you want to do anything inside of the Ministry."

"Merlin, that's bloody awful!" Alicia exclaimed. "I barely had enough time last year with only six classes. I can't even imagine having to take all twelve." She gave a visible shudder.

"Yeah. It was awful. I don't think I have actually slept during a school year for the past six years."

We all fell into a comfortable silence after that, following Angelina through the corridors. It wasn't too much longer before I recognized the entry way and the doors to the Great Hall. It was there that we really started to run into students from the other houses. While walking into the Great Hall, I kept looking around, trying to spot Adrian while telling myself that I wasn't looking for him. I wanted, well, I honestly don't know what I wanted. It was pretty clear last night that he wasn't going to make any moves to keep our 'friendship', if we even were friends before. But, I really didn't want to give up on one of the few friendships I actually had.

I was pulled from my thoughts when we got to our table. I sat down next to Angelina on one bench while Alicia and Brit sat across from us on the other. Unlike the night before, food was already present on all of the tables, so everyone just started gathering food onto their golden plates. I only grabbed a small scoop of scrambled eggs and a couple strips of bacon, my nerves suddenly coming into bloom about my first day of classes.

Feeling my stomach start to churn, I leaned over towards Angelina. "Hey, where is the nearest bathroom?"

"It's right outside the doors, on the left. You can't miss it," Angelina replied between swallows. "Do you want me to go with you?"

'Nah, I think I can manage." I made my way out of the Great Hall and leaned against the wall, sliding down to the floor. I knew that I needed to calm down, that I was just having an anxiety attack, that I just needed to talk myself down.

_I'm being ridiculous,_ I said to myself._ I have already met some really nice people. I'm not going to be the 'weird new girl' for long. I don't need to freak out. Everything is going to be okay._ I could feel my breathing starting to relax and the anxiety attack start to go away. I took a couple more deep breaths before I opened my eyes to push myself up off the ground, only to freeze.

Standing in front of me, amusement clear on his face, was the boy I had spotted earlier in the common room. After pausing for a moment, I shook my head and made my way to my feet.

"Um, hi," I offered, smoothing out my skirt.

A smirk appeared on his face. It wasn't a flattering look. "You do this a lot? Have mental breakdowns where anyone can see?"

I was looking down at my skirt, checking to see if it was laying nicely again, when I froze, wondering if I had actually heard him correctly. Looking back up at his face, I could tell that I had. "Excuse me? Last time I checked, sitting down in a hallway wasn't abnormal. Nor was it considered having a mental breakdown. You don't know me, and I hope you never will." I had somehow managed to avoid screaming at him. How, I don't know. I had just pushed past him when I heard him lightly call to me.

"I wouldn't bet on that." When I turned around to ask him just what he meant by that, he was already heading up the grand staircase. More unnerved now than when I had first left the Great Hall, I made my way back to sit next to Angelina.

"Hey, what took you so long? I was about to send out a search party," Angelina laughed, nudging me with her elbow as I sat down.

"Um," I muttered, not quite sure what to say. "I just ran into someone coming back and they held me up for a bit, no big deal."

"Held you up? Why? What did they say?" Brit asked, looking very curious.

"They didn't do anything to you, did they?" Alicia had set her fork down, concern evident on her face.

"No, not really. He was just a jerk. Nothing I couldn't handle," I replied, digging into my breakfast just to have something to do.

"He? Who was it? Was it Pucey?" Angelina queried.

"No! I haven't even seen him today," I said quickly, wanting to defend him. "It was someone from our house. He was standing in the common room when we left for breakfast this morning. Kind of tall, dirty blond hair, kind of a creepy smile."

"Oh, that sounds like McLaggen," Brit said, turning back to her food.

"Don't worry about him too much. He's a complete and utter prat," Angelina replied, sending me a small smile. "And by the way, he was one of the wolves I was talking about earlier."

I couldn't contain the laugh that burst from my lips. "Merlin, I hope that he was the only wolf. I don't want to deal with any more annoying and immature people today."

"I think she might be talking about us, Forge."

I turned to my right to see Fred and George sitting down next to me. Adorning their faces were matching looks of extremely fake shock.

"She couldn't possibly be, Gred. Us, annoying and immature? Simply unheard-of!" George cried out, clutching a hand to his heart.

"You are absolutely right, Forge. After all, our darling Angie would never think of us like that," Fred agreed, a smile fighting to appear on his face.

"Mr. and Mr. Weasley!" Professor McGonagall was practically on top of our group, her eyes narrowed on Fred and George. I could almost imagine steam billowing out of her ears. "Leave Ms. Westermann alone! It's a miracle that you haven't caused her to go running for the hills yet!"

"Aw, Minnie, we're just having a bit of fun," George pouted.

"Besides, Angie knows that it's all in good fun," Fred added.

"You should see the way she talks to us sometimes."

"Absolutely dreadful."

"It would curl your hair."

"That is, if you ever let it down."

I couldn't help but fall into a fit of muffled giggles, collapsing against Angelina, who was trying to hold back her own. It wasn't everyday that I saw students talk back to, and poke fun at, a professor. However, both Angelina and I fell silent at the cold look McGonagall shot our way.

"I hope that you are all finished. I have your time tables for you. I would hate for you to waste even more time, causing you to be late for Double Charms this morning."

* * *

That first day of classes was so different than anything I was used to at AIM. I only had two classes the entire day, Double Charms first thing and then Transfiguration right after lunch. It shocked me how much free time I was going to have. But plans of spending those free periods lazing about were quickly dashed with the pile of homework Professor Flitwick had assigned. After waving off Fred and George's attempts to get me to help them recruit first-years for some plan of theirs, I wandered off through the halls, determined to find the library all on my own.

However, after getting completely turned around at least a dozen times, I flagged down a ghost, a friar, and he actually escorted me all the way there. With a smile and a thank you, I left the friar at the door to step into the cavernous room. That old book smell, so wonderful and welcoming, surrounded me at once. After taking a look around the room, I noticed that it was mostly empty, except for a very stern looking woman standing behind the checkout desk. With a glare from said woman, I quickly made my way through the stacks to the back of the library, where I hoped there would be a table available.

After settling down one of the many empty ones, I pulled out my charms textbook and set to work on the essay Flitwick assigned on memory charms. Since I had already covered memory charms in my sixth year at AIM, it didn't take much time before the entire roll of parchment was covered. After looking it over once, I tapped it with my wand to dry the ink before rolling the parchment up and slipping it back into my bag along with my Charms book. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I slipped through the stacks again, my stomach growling out its need for food.

I had just slipped out of the library and had turned the corner when I smacked into someone. I stumbled backwards, about to apologize, when I noticed it was Adrian smirking down at me. With an instant smile, I gave him a soft jab to the shoulder with my fist.

"Watch where you're going, Adrian. You could have knocked me over."

"Me? You were the one barreling around the corner, not looking where you were going," Adrian teased.

"Barreling? A lady doesn't 'barrel' about," I mock protested.

His smirk just grew. "And who ever said you were a lady?"

"Touché." I couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry about bumping into you, but I was just in such a hurry to get down to lunch. I'm afraid my stomach might literally eat itself at this point."

"Well, we can't have that," he replied with a rueful smile. "I'll just leave you to head down there then." He turned away to head off.

"Adrian, wait," I called, grabbing his arm. As he turned back towards me, I gave him a sheepish smile. "I was hoping you could walk me down there. I still don't really know my way around this place. I seriously feel like I could get lost in here for days." I gave him my best puppy-dog-pout, hoping that he wouldn't say no.

He heaved a sigh, acting put out, but a slight smile was breaking through on his face. "I guess I can go completely out of my way to help you find some food. Just make sure you pay attention," he added, heading off down the hallway. "I won't always be here to be your knight in tarnished jet black armour, saving the poor lady from starving."

"Tarnished?" I let out a laugh, following him through the hallways. "It looks pretty shiny from my poor stomachs view."

"Well, your stomach is a bit biased at the moment. Can't really trust its judgment," he joked, smirking down at me.

We continued on in companionable silence until we reached the Great Hall. He stopped outside the doors, a pensive look crossing his face.

"Thanks for helping me Adrian. My stomach and I really appreciate it," I said gratefully, before spontaneously wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He stood there stiffly, probably shocked. As I pulled away, I gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I guess that I'll see you later," I shot him a smile before turning and walking into the Great Hall.

As I was walking towards the Gryffindor tables, I kept running over the past few minutes in my head, wondering why on earth I hugged him, let alone kissed his cheek! He probably thought that I was throwing myself at him like some sort of common slut. I shot a look over my shoulder, to see if he was still standing at the door, and sure enough, he was. He stood there, a stunned look on his face, with his hand lightly touching the cheek that I had kissed.

_Oh boy,_ I thought to myself. _ So much for no drama this year. It's only the first day of class and already I have a creepy guy in my own house, I kissed one of my only friends, and one of my best friends best friend absolutely hates me. How can this possibly get any worse?_

**Author's Note:**** So as you can probably tell, this chapter is much shorter than some of my previous ones. I'm sorry about that, but this just seemed like the best place to leave off this chapter and there wasn't that much that I could add to beef it up. **  
**  
Anyway, I hope that everyone is still with me after my almost 2 year long break from this story. I apologize for that. Family, college, and life got in the way, along with a really bad case of writer's block. I also had lost my passion for this story, which made me really not even want to look at it. Thank you to everyone who stood with me and sent me encouraging messages, especially ShineInTheStorm who verbally kicked my butt back into gear a couple times.**

**Hopefully I will have a new chapter up for you much sooner than 2013. Once again, thank you for all the support and continuing to read this story.**

**~Clumsy~  
**


	11. Chapter 11: Life Like This

**Author's**** Note:****Welcome back readers! Enjoy this newest update!  
**

**Disclaimer:****I do not own Harry Potter. That pleasure is reserved for the great JKR. I only get to take her characters out on play dates.**

* * *

_Oh boy,_ I thought to myself. _So much for no drama this year. It's only the first day of class and already I have a creepy guy in my own house, I kissed one of my only friends, and one of my best friends best friend absolutely hates me. How can this possibly get any worse?_

* * *

I turned back towards the Gryffindor tables, heading towards the table I had sat at for breakfast, only to notice that no one else was there yet. Looking at my watch, I realized that there was still another 20 minutes or so until lunch officially began. I sat down and pulled out a novel I had shoved in my bag that morning, on the off chance that I might have some down time during the day. Flipping it open to where I had left off, I quickly lost myself to the fictional world.

I was still completely immersed in my book when Fred and George came strolling in that I didn't notice them until I was suddenly squeezed between two hard male bodies, causing me to drop my book on the table. Looking up, I noticed smirking at me from either side.

"Fred, dearest brother, it appears that someone has taken our spot for our favorite meal of the day."

"It seems that way, George. I don't understand why someone would do that to us, especially someone we consider a dear friend," Fred replied, clasping a hand to his chest in anguish. It would have appeared more sincere, if his ever present smirk wasn't still planted on his face.

"It's really not very nice of said dear friend. I hope that she has thought up some idea on how to make this up to us," George murmured, a dangerous looking spark entering his eyes.

"Boys, whatever it is you have planned, please leave me out of it," I quickly stuffed my book back into my bag, noticing that the rest of the Great Hall was starting to fill up. "I know I said before that I would love to help you guys out with your pranks this year, but I just don't feel like doing it again this year, especially when I don't have my two partners in crime. It just won't feel the same."

The twins looked at each other for a moment before starting to laugh quietly.

"Well, it looks like I owe Lee a galleon now," Fred replied, a half smile on his face.

"Actually, Angie, we weren't even thinking about asking for your help on a prank."

"We really just need some help keeping a certain Gryffindor prefect distracted for a couple hours after dinner tonight."

"Think you can help us out?" George asked, both he and Fred turning their best puppy dog pouts m direction. I couldn't help but laugh at how those innocent looking pouts were completely offset by the mischievous glint in their eyes.

"What are you trying to hide from Hermione?"

"How did you know-?" Fred began.

"-we were talking about Hermione?" George finished.

"I saw her this morning looking a bit ticked off because of some poster in the common room. I could only assume it had something to do with you two."

"Very perceptive," George commented. Food began to appear on the tables, announcing the beginning of the lunch period.

"We just need to get a little bit of work done without the possibility of her walking in," Fred continued, beginning to pile food onto his plate.

I took a moment to gather food on my plate before replying. "Well, I guess that I can manage that. Maybe Ginny can help me keep her busy for a couple hours." At Fred and George's growing grins, I couldn't help but smile too. "However, you two will owe me for this."

"Name it," George promised, taking another bite of his Shepard's pie.

"Don't know yet, but I'll let you know when something comes to me," I smiled, digging into my own lunch as Angelina, Alicia, Brittany, Katie, and Lee made their way over to sit with us.

All of us sat around joking for the entire lunch period, hardly noticing that the Great Hall was slowly emptying. It wasn't until Angelina checked the tie that we realized that we were almost running late for Transfiguration. We grabbed our stuff and practically ran through the halls, even Fred, George, and Lee, strange though that may seem. Katie broke off from our group to make it Charms on the third floor, with a kiss for Lee and a glare in my direction. When we finally got to the classroom, it was with only moments to spare. Unfortunately, that also meant that most of the seats were taken. With everyone else in our group pairing off for the empty desks (Alicia and Brittany, Angelina and George, Fred and Lee), I was left to take the only empty seat left next to a Ravenclaw that I had never seen before.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked, slipping into the seat next to him at the back of the classroom and taking out my textbook, quill, and spare parchment.

"Not at all." At his deep voice, I looked up into his face, really noticing him for the first time. He had dark brown, almost black, shaggy hair that was slightly curly around the bottom. His green eyes twinkled a bit in the candle light of the room, while his half smile caused a subtle fluttering to occur in my stomach. Which was not something that I wanted to investigate further. "I'm Roger Davies. I don't recall seeing you around here before. Are you the new girl who transferred here?" he queried, giving his head a toss to flick a chunk of hair out of his face.

"Yeah, that's me. I'm Angie Westermann," I answered, giving him a slight smile. He looked like he was about to say something else when Professor McGonagall swept into the room.

"Good afternoon class. Open your text to Chapter 1: The Art of Personal Transfiguration. As many of you can assume, this term will be focusing on personal transfiguration, which is the most difficult, and dangerous, transfiguration one can attempt. As such, this will require a great deal of self-discipline. If you feel like this subject is beyond your abilities, please see yourself out of my class." I could see McGonagall fixing her glare on the twins at this. I couldn't see their faces, but I could only assume that they grinned in response, since McGonagall's glare grew even more pronounced.

No one moved from their seats. McGonagall flicked her wand at the board behind her and notes began to appear while she began to lecture on the history and uses of personal transfiguration. Caught up as I was trying to take precise notes, I almost jumped out of my seat when I felt something brush by my hand. Looking down, I saw a small origami cat rubbing against my hand. As I picked it up, I threw a questioning look at Roger, but he was focusing on McGonagall, a hit of a smile on his lips.

The cat came apart the second I touched it, unfolding into a flat piece of parchment. There were only two words on it.

_Favorite color?_

I shook my head before writing back, sliding the parchment to the empty space between us.

_**Blue. Yours?**_

I saw Roger take the note before trying to focus back on McGonagall. It was hard to keep track of what she was saying when most of my attention was waiting for him to write back. When he slid the note back towards me, I waited a few moments before grabbing it, trying not to seem too eager.

_Same. Why did you transfer here?_

I worried my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to think of the best way to phrase an answer.

_**My parents were transferred from the US Ministry, so here I am. **_

It was only a minute until I got a response.

_Huh. Well, that explains the accent. Do you miss it much?_

_**Yeah. All of my friends are there. It's still weird to think of not being able to graduate with them. Oh, and I do not have an accent. That would be all of you.**_

After I slid the parchment back over to him, I heard him chuckle quietly before he responded.

_Whatever you say. What other subjects are you taking?_

_**Charms, Defense, and Potions. Seemed like a nice, light class load. Then I had Charms this morning. If all of my classes are like that, then so much for free time. What about you?**_

_Same, minus Potions and add in Herbology. I can't believe you are taking Potions. If you thought Charms was tough so far, just wait for your first Potions period. _

_**Is it that bad? I don't think I've heard anything about it so far.**_

_Let's just say that there is a reason most of us don't go on to take it at N.E.W.T. level. _

_**I've screwed myself over this time, haven't I?**_

A startled laugh burst from Roger's lips, which he covered with a cough when McGonagall's steely gaze turned on him. When Angelina turned her head to give me a questioning look, I just smiled and went back to making notes on what McGonagall was saying.

The rest of the period went by uneventful, though I knew that I would have to ask Brit to copy the notes that I had missed. Roger and I continued to pass notes back and forth, talking about whatever would pop into our heads. When the period was over, I packed up my supplies and was about to leave, seeing Brit and Alicia waiting for me at the door, when I felt a hand on my arm. Looking up, I saw Roger smiling down at me.

"It was nice to meet you, Angie. Maybe we can make this a permanent arrangement?" He asked, a slight smirk on his face.

"It was nice to meet you too. And maybe we can, as long as your laughing doesn't get us in trouble with McGonagall again," I laughed, returning his smirk. "But I have to get going. Brittany and Alicia are waiting for me. I'll see you around, okay?"

At his smile, I turned and walked towards Alicia and Brit, both of whom had wide grins on their faces. They reminded me a bit of the Cheshire cat.

"So, you and Roger Davies, huh?" Alicia joked as we left the room.

"We are just friends," I urged, letting them steer me across the courtyard. I still had no idea where I was going in this place. "Since all of you left me alone to fend for myself, that was the only seat left open. But he seemed nice enough."

"Sorry, we weren't thinking," Brit apologized, though she didn't appear to be too sorry about it. "But you two did seem awful close. And you would make a cute couple."

"Brittany!" I tried to stop, but the girls just pulled me along. "We just met each other, for Merlin's sake. I'm not even sure if I like him or not like that."

"Oh, don't lie, Angie," Alicia scolded with a smile. "I know that I saw you smiling at him more often than not during class, along with that nice blush you had going when you were talking with him after class."

"I…but…we…it's just…ugh!" I could feel myself turning bright red. We had reached the other side of the courtyard and I saw a bench off to one side. Breaking away from the girls, I walked quickly over to it, threw my bag on the ground and sat down, head in my hands. I heard Brit and Alicia laugh as they joined me, one on either side.

"No reason to be embarrassed, Angie," Brit consoled, rubbing small circles on my upper back. "So what if you're attracted to him? Doesn't mean you have to do anything right now, or ever for that matter."

"But," Alicia added, "I think it was fairly obvious that he is at least attracted to you too. He had that stupid dopey grin on his face every time I saw him looking at you."

"But I don't even know him that well. I mean, we just talked for what, 10, maybe 15 minutes? How do you think that I could possibly want to do anything with him after knowing him for so short a period of time?" I turned my head to glare at Alicia. "And he does not have a dopey grin. I think it's quite….nice," I replied, struggling to find the right word.

Alicia just laughed. "Angie, you two were passing notes for almost an hour. I'm honestly surprised that McGonagall didn't catch you."

"Really?" I was honestly surprised. It certainly hadn't seemed like we were talking for that long. "Well, I mean, he did ask me to sit next to him from now on," I offered.

"See! That definitely means that he likes you," Brittany gushed.

"And besides, you know that he has to have a great body under those robes," Alicia smirked.

"Alicia!" Brit and I exclaimed at the same time, though it was rather nullified when we both started laughing.

"What? I was only going to say that he's the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. And if he is anything like Oliver, he has a wonderful body," Alicia supplied, quirking her eyebrows. All of us laughed at that, before gathering our things and heading out of the courtyard.

"By the way, Brit. Could I borrow your notes from last period? Mine are surprisingly incomplete," I added with a wry grin. This just started another round of laughter.

* * *

Brit had Ancient Runes right after Transfiguration and had to rush off in order to make it there on time. That left Alicia and I with a free period until dinner. Since it was so nice outside, we decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to go down to the Quidditch pitch for a quick ride. After dropping off our bags in the dormitory, we changed out of our robes and into more comfortable riding clothes before grabbing our brooms and heading for the pitch. Once we were there, Alicia transfigured a rock into a Quaffle for us to throw around. It felt wonderful to be back in the air again, even if it was only for a game of catch.

It was starting to get close to dinner when Alicia decided to call it a day. Not wanting to leave the skies just yet, I waved her off to the castle, promising that I would be able to find my way back. I flew lazy circles around the stadium, just enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping through my hair. I probably spent another 30 minutes outside before I touched down, ready to head inside. Carrying my broom over my shoulder, I made my way up the path towards the castle.

As I walked, my mind kept thinking back to Transfiguration and my conversation with Roger Davies. It seemed also silly to me to already have feelings for him. I had really only known him for about an hour, yet it seemed like every time I thought of him I would get butterflies and my face would start to flush. I couldn't even lie to myself and say that I wasn't attracted to him. He was an attractive guy, one that I could very easily picture myself with, no thanks to Brit's comment about us making a cute couple.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized that I had already reached the Entrance Hall until I heard the sounds of laughter and conversation. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I walked into the Great Hall. I noticed Fred and George holding court with the rest of the Gryffindor seventh years, where most of the laughter was coming from. Smiling to myself at their antics, I was about to make my way over to sit with them when I noticed Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron sitting a bit further up the table.

Fred and George's request suddenly popped into my mind, making up my mind for me. I walked past Fred, George, and everyone, giving them a smile and a wave, before sitting down next to Ginny further up the table.

"Hey Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Ron," I greeted, leaning my broom against the table next to me.

"Hey Angie! What are you doing down here? Thought you would be hanging out with my brothers," Ginny asked, while the others murmured their greetings.

"Seemed a bit noisy down there. Besides, I spent all day with them. I talked to you since yesterday. How was your first day?" I started filling my plate with food, realizing that I was quite hungry after all that flying.

"Quite uneventful. But then again, that's what happens when you have History of Magic and Divination on the same day," Ginny shuddered. "But how was yours? Are you starting to get used to Hogwarts, even a bit?"

"Well, I only had Charms and Transfiguration today, so it wasn't too bad. But I still feel as if I can't find my way around this place without getting lost," I admitted. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "Ginny, I don't suppose you and Hermione would want to help me out tonight. I was thinking about just walking around the castle, trying to better familiarize myself with it."

Hermione looked up when she heard her name. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Angie was wondering if we wanted to walk with her around the castle to help her get more comfortable finding her way around," Ginny replied. "I know I don't mind. Hermione, what about you?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, a frown pulling at her lips. "I was planning on camping out in the common room and working on all my homework. I have star charts for Astronomy, practice vanishing spells for Transfiguration, work on the problems Professor Vector assigned in Arithmancy, and then I have to start studying for O.W.L.S., otherwise I will fall behind in my study schedule."

"Um, Hermione?" I asked, once she was finally finished. "You do realize that it is only the first day of classes. Is any of that due tomorrow?"

"Well, no. But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't have it finished well ahead of time," she huffed.

"Do you think you can push it off just for a few hours tonight?" I pleaded. "I know that I'm asking a lot, but I would really appreciate it. Think of it as a personal favor to me."

Hermione seemed to think for a moment, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, before she let out a sigh. "Fine. But only for an hour, two tops. I don't want to fall behind after the first day." She turned back to her food and the open Arithmancy book she had next to her.

I turned to look at Ginny, who just shrugged. I guess that was how Hermione just was. I went back to eating, listening to Harry, Ginny, and Ron, along with some other younger Gryffindors I didn't know, go on about the new Defense teacher. She sounded positively awful. Once I was finished eating, I stood up and grabbed my broom, before turning to look at Ginny and Hermione.

"I'm going to go put this away before we go for our walk. I'll meet you guys back down here?" I asked. At their nods, I turned and made my way down to where Fred and George were still sitting, though now they seemed to be in deep conversation with Lee. At my approach, George nudged both boys and they sat back, turning to face me with smiles that were just a tad too innocent looking.

"Angie! To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?" George asked, winking in my direction.

"Oh, knock it off George. I don't even want to know what you boys are up to, as long as it doesn't involve me. I just wanted to let you know that you have an hour tonight, two tops, of Hermione-free common room time. Might want to set someone as a look-out to let you know when we are heading back. She didn't seem too pleased with me for pulling her away from her study schedule," I added.

"Wicked." Fred and George looked at each other, matching mischievous grins on their faces. "We owe one."

"Don't mention it," I said, waving it off. "I'll let you know how you can pay me back later. I'll see you boys in the common room later. Don't get into too much trouble," I smirked, before turning and walking away.

* * *

I felt much more comfortable with finding my way around the castle after my guided tour. Ginny and Hermione walked me through the entire place, it seemed, showing me the quickest ways to get to certain parts of the castle, handy short cuts (more from Ginny than Hermione), and which portraits to ask if I got turned around and needed help. When we had gotten back to the common room, Fred and George had already cleaned up whatever it was they were up to while we were gone and were relaxing in front of the fireplace with Angelina, Alicia, Lee, and Katie.

"Oi! Angie!" Fred called from across the room. "Come over here!"

Hermione left us to head to an empty corner table to spread out her homework, Ginny and I went to join the group by the fire.

"What's going on, Fred? Forget how to sit in a chair?" I joked, noticing that he was splayed sideways across the armchair, with one of his legs tossed over the back. George was leaning against one arm of the couch, Angelina curled against him, while Lee and Katie were in a similar position at the other end. Alicia as curled up in the other armchair. I sat on the ground in front of her, while Ginny took up a similar position in front of Fred's chair.

"You mean this isn't the correct way?" Fred asked in mock horror, while everyone laughed.

"Angie, Angelina was just telling us that she's having Quidditch tryouts this Friday," George stated. "Fred just wanted to let you know in case you were still interested in trying for the team."

I saw Katie stiffen a bit on the couch. "What position did you play, Angie?" she asked.

I blinked in surprise. This was the first time she had said something to me since Oliver's party. I'd almost forgotten what her voice actually sounded like. Mentally shaking myself back to the present, I tried to remember what she had just asked me.

"Well, um, I was one of the Chasers on grade's team, along with my two best friends."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Katie sneered. She got up from where she was sitting on the couch with Lee and stormed off towards the girls' dormitories. Everyone stared after her, questioning looks on their faces. Lee finally turned to face me, still looking confused.

"What the bloody hell was that about?"

"She hasn't liked me since we first met," I sighed, leaning back against the bottom of Alicia's armchair. "It seemed to me like she thought I've been hitting on you since we first met. And now I guess she doesn't like that I play Quidditch too?"

"Well," Alicia offered. "I think it might be more than just jealousy, though that is definitely a part of it. Katie, Angelina, and I have been the Gryffindor Chasers since our third year, her second year. I think she might be worried that if you try out, you would replace her as a Chaser."

"Shouldn't she be mad at me, then? Not Angie?" Angelina asked. "After all, I'm the one who is putting the damned team together, not Angie."

"Well, it doesn't matter," I stated. "Angelina, do you have reserve positions, in case one of your normal players gets injured or sick or something?"

"Well, yeah. I don't normally name them, but I do have people in mind in case that happens."

"Well, as much as I love Quidditch, I would be more than happy in a reserve position, instead of being on the actual team," I offered Angelina and the rest of the group a wry smile. "I really don't want to come between any friendships. And if you three have been Chasers together for four, almost five, years, you guys have to be fantastic together."

"Angie, that isn't your decision to make," Angelina argued. "I'm going to put together the best team possible, and if that means you instead of Alicia or Katie, that's the end of it."

"After tryouts, if you offer me a Chaser position instead of a reserve position, I will turn it down," I promised. "Well, I'm feeling quite exhausted. Think I'll turn in for the night," I stood up and made my way over to the girls' staircase. "See you all in the morning."

* * *

After Angie was out of sight, Angelina huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"She is so bull-headed," Angelina swore.

"Are you talking about Angie or Katie?" Fred joked, readjusting himself on his armchair.

Angelina let out a low chuckle. "I don't know. Probably both." She fell quite for a second. "Maybe that's why they don't like each other. They are so similar that they only see what they don't like about themselves in the each other."

"Angelina, it is getting way too late for you to start trying to be so philosophical," Alicia complained, causing everyone to laugh as Angelina threw a pillow at her.

After talking together a bit more, everyone left to head upstairs to bed, leaving the common room almost empty. The only two to stay behind were Fred and Alicia. Both were staring into the fireplace, seeming happy with the companionable silence.

"You know," Fred jumped at the sudden noise, not expecting Alicia to start talking. "If you want to make a move, you better do so quickly. She has already caught the attention of a few others."

"Alicia, what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Fred." Alicia turned to him, a sad smile on her face. "However, if you want to sit back and watch her go out with someone else, that's fine too. But I've seen the way you look at her when you think no one is looking."

Fred groaned, leaning his head against the back of the chair. "I barely know her, Alicia. I hardly think she wants some bloke to ask her out after being in the country for less than a month."

Alicia nodded, before standing up. "I wouldn't be so sure of that." When Fred's head popped up, she smiled and made her way over to the girl's staircase. Looking back at him, she added, "Brit and I were talking to her after Transfiguration. I think we might have convinced her to give this guy a chance. He was flirting with her fairly obviously."

Fred felt a rather unpleasant tightening sensation in his chest. He was almost afraid to hear the answer to his next question, but he needed to know who his competition would be.

"Who is it?"

"Roger Davies."

* * *

_If you found the note conversation between Angie and Roger confusing, everything that Roger wrote was just in italics, while everything Angie wrote was in bold italics. Hope that clears up any confusion. __**  
**_

**Author's Note:**** Sorry about the major lapse in updates. I wish I could say that life got in the way, but it wouldn't be the whole truth. I really lost my passion for this story and no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get it back. While I am writing again, and even somewhat happy with what is coming out on paper, I don't have the same feelings for this story that I did at the beginning. I'm working to get that back, and with graduation just around the corner, I will be able to dedicate more time to both writing and getting back those feelings. **

**Thank you to everyone who is still following this story, though I completely understand if you have written it off as never being finished. Also, a big thank you to those who continued to message me and remind me to come back to this story. **

**I have put a poll up on my profile, asking about that characters you all want to see in this story. If you vote, and possibly even leave a little review, it could encourage me to write faster.**

**~Clumsy~**


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